Illusion
by Storm racer
Summary: When her husband answers a decepticon job avert Lou is thrown into the war. she ends up with the Autobots. What can she do now that her life is no longer normal and the decepticons want her? How will she cope with giant robots and a decepticon husband?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own transformers, they belong to Hasbro. I only own my characters; Dark Orbit, Clash, Lou, Mick, Marianne and Anna

_Prologue_

As Mick is reading the paper; he comes across an advert in the employment section. He likes the sound of it and mentions it to his wife Louise, also known as Lou for short.

"Hey Lou, look at this position" Mick called.

"I thought you were happy with the job you have" Lou was somewhat puzzled with his desire to change his job considering he was happy in the one he already had.

"Yes, however this one is offering very good money and it is doing a lot more than what I'm doing now.

"Let me see" Mick handed her the paper. She read it.

"Worldwide communications and security. Who are they? Seriously, you'd better do some research about them and find out who they are"

"Nah, it'll be fine"

"Mick I've worked in my job for 5 years and I've never heard of them. They sound like an organisation we'd do business with."

"I'm applying for it and that's final" He raised his voice as he said this. "You are too cautious Lou" Lou was frustrated with Mick's spontaneity and stubbornness as it often got him into trouble. She walked out of the room and continued getting herself organised for work. Little did he know that dark forces were at work.

_CHAPTER 1 Dark Orbit's mission._

Dark Orbit was one of Megatron's best spies on Cybertron. He stood about 14 feet tall which was ideal for a Mech to be able to get into small areas but still not so ideal for earth. He was very good at stealth, hanging around in dark areas to do his work. Orbit had fingers which turned into the tools required for espionage and blades which could be used during battle; these were retracted into his arms when not in use. Not to mention circular disks with three more blades which would swing out as the disks were thrown. These were situated just under his forearm and would be pulled out by grabbing each forearm with the opposite hand. Even his colouring was suited to his job. He was pure black with a dark blue helmet and shutters which would go over his eyes so they didn't glow whilst still enabling him to see perfectly.

He had quickly discovered that espionage on earth was easier at night-time (the darker the better) especially when humans shut everything down to go into their recharge. Street lamps were a pain though. This didn't deter Dark Orbit, he was nimble and slim so he could slip down dark alleyways and his ability to glide silently offered him the opportunity to glide across buildings. Landing was never a problem either, he was always light on his feet. His alt mode was that of a black Ferrari with black tinted windows. Dark Orbit could also mask his Decepticon signature by using a signature barrier specifically designed for him. It had worked perfectly during his trips to Iacon while on Cybertron. Now it would again come in useful as he had been instructed to go to the Autobot base to spy on the Autobots.

He was in Autobot headquarters as instructed and overheard Wheeljack and Perceptor talking in one of the labs.

"Hey Percy how are you?" Wheeljack always enjoyed Perceptor's visits, they were very good friends. Perceptor was always good at looking at things from a different angle offering a new concept to whatever it was another Mech was working on.

"Fine Wheeljack, what is this?" Perceptor was really intrigued with the object Wheeljack was working on. Percy picked it up and moved it around. It was easy to hold and light; he tried to imagine Ironhide with it. "_Nah" _he thought. It was a rather odd looking object almost like a hand gun; not like the hand guns that he was used to. It was short and narrow, it didn't have a trigger it had a crescent handle on which there were two large buttons, the top button was blue, the one underneath was red. Percy pushed the blue button; the weapon hummed and the blue button lit up. The light showed up against the black weapon.

"I'm inventing a new weapon to help in our war against the Decepticons."

"What's the blue light for?" Percy was quite perplexed by this.

"Mmm?" Wheeljack looked up.

"Oh that, that's the blue light which tells us it's charging; when it goes to the red light it is charged and then the trigger can be pulled the rest of the way." He tried but nothing happened.

"Nothing has happened" Percy was slightly disappointed about this. He always liked to try things to see how they worked. Wheeljack looked up.

"Ah no it won't yet I haven't connected everything together yet. I'm still making sure everything comes on as it is supposed to"

"What does it do, it sounds rather interesting"

"I know, it is designed to shoot out a ray of electricity, which will travel a lot further than some of our more conventional weapons. If the Decepticons get caught by the ray of electricity then they will become short circuited. It could cause them a lot of problems and the loss of a battle" Wheeljack was quite excited about this invention. "_Starscream will be interested in this_" mused Dark Orbit and carried on listening.

"Yeah but didn't Optimus say no more inventions that could cause more trouble if the Decepticons got hold of them?" Perceptor was quite concerned about this weapon; he knew only too well from experience what the Decepticons can do if they got hold of something which has the ability to give them the upper hand in a battle. Dark Orbit turned to move but as he did he accidentally knocked a shelf, it rocked a little bit knocking some of Wheeljack's equipment onto the floor. The noise distracted them but they weren't too concerned about it. After all things were always falling off shelves or exploding in Wheeljack's lab. Wheel jack walked over and picked everything up. Dark Orbit held his breath until Wheeljack started to move away; as he did he felt air blowing on him. "_Strange!_" he thought but didn't mention anything else about it. Dark Orbit crept around the base keeping in the shadows, he's skill of stealth kicking in automatically, no one was aware.

Although the Autobot computer systems did pick up an anomaly neither Red Alert nor Prime could find anything of concern.

"Just keep an eye out Red and let me know if it happens again."

"Will do Prime" Red was a little unnerved about this anomaly, something didn't seem quite right and warning bells were ringing.

Dark Orbit made his way back to Decepticon headquarters.

"Hail Starscream" ooh how he hated that salute. He really had no respect for Starscream as he did for Megatron but now he was gone, by a human fleshling no less. "I have really interesting information that will most likely be of great interest to you"

"Tell me" Starscream snarled. "If it will allow us to defeat the Autobots then I am all audios."

"Well I overheard a conversation between Wheeljack and the other one, the red one. I believe his name is Perceptor. They are inventing a weapon. It will shoot out a ray of electricity causing short circuiting especially in a transformer, can you imagine the damage something like that would cause?"

"Hee hee. Yes I can Dark Orbit. We could use that weapon against the humans AND the Autoscum, I could use it to ransom earth, then we could have energy to make energon and I would be able to rule this earth, no the universe and those cursed Autobots would be defeated. I am closer to victory then Megatron ever got" He leaned menacingly towards Dark Orbit, who cringed.

"No matter what happens I want that weapon however we will need a human to help us because we can't get into Autobot systems alone. We need human intervention to help us; especially with Frenzy no longer with us. Do what you have to do Dark Orbit to get a human, they are very gullible so I'm sure you can think of something." he sent Dark Orbit off and sat back in his chair smirking.

Dark Orbit himself enjoyed having a free rein, he knew Megatron would have trusted him to get a job done, and done thoroughly and Starscream believed he could too. It was Dark Orbit's way, it was his standards he'd set for himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer; I do not own Transformers they belong to Hasbro but I do own Lou, Mick, Marianne, Anna and Ebony.

**CHAPTER 2 **_: _

**Dark plans of a deception**

Starscream was pleased with Dark Orbit's plan to set up an advert for a job, which would attract a human. He was not going to let Starscream down, despite he's feelings towards him. If he didn't do this than Starscream would punish him in the most humiliating way; that was how Starscream got them to do it.

This was what Dark Orbit was made for and he was in his element. He quickly learnt how the humans did business and pretty soon he had everything set up, including the room which he had found for the interview. It was a building recently vacated due to a business folding. He of course had hacked in and "purchased" it, honestly; human systems were so primitive!

Barricade was to be the interviewer, he enjoyed setting up his hologram. He made himself about 6 feet tall, black curly hair and red eyes. He wore a black suit, white shirt and black tie. He sat at the desk as he interviewed various humans, but he was more interested in Mick and so was Starscream.

Mick was the next person to be interviewed; Barricade introduced himself as Tony Barr and invited Mick into the room. The room was sparsely furnished with a desk and two chairs, one behind the desk for Barricade. There was a laptop on the desk; well a holoform of a laptop and Mick's application form. There were no pictures on the walls nor were there any plants around the office. There were just stark blue walls; it was hardly something you would expect to see in a businessman's office, but Barricade was not a businessman. The humans were still none the wiser, as far as they were concerned they were being interviewed by another man. Not giant alien robots, evil giant alien robots.

It was decided that the Decepticons would reveal their true selves to Mick as soon as he started his work. They told him everything about themselves missing out pieces of information which would cause him to become suspicious. It took him a while to get used to working with them rather than human beings and pretty soon he found it really cool; but he never told Lou who his real boss was.

Mick saw no problem with working with Starscream and his Decepticon followers, that is until Starscream started revealing his plans for universal domination, starting with earth. Starscream was planning on using the energy to rebuild Cybertron and make it a Decepticon stronghold. Mick had been promised power, he just didn't know how or when.

"Just trust me"

Starscream had said slyly. Mick was now aware of being involved in something which was very quickly beginning to alarm him and seemed to be much bigger than he thought. But to even suggest leaving or confront Starscream about his plans as he had done once before could endanger his own life and that of his family.

Megatron had been impressed with the team work between Barricade and Frenzy before the battle at mission city and had congratulated himself for pairing those two up; but now Frenzy was gone and so was Megatron. Soundwave desperately missed his creation and couldn't wait for this whole saga to stop. They had been fighting for so long now that most mechs had lost what the initial cause was, either that or they were dead. "_What's the point of this war now?" _Soundwave thought.

Dark Orbit was now working with Barricade and had spent days watching Lou's movements meticulously. He knew everything about her. Where she worked, her favourite past time, when she was home and when she wasn't. As well as who her friends were and what her children were up to each minuet of the day.

Lou herself didn't know much about her husband's business, nor did she know about the project he was working on or who he was working for. He would grumble about how relentless his boss was if things didn't go according to plan or mistakes were made. He would never tell Starscream's name; she would get very curious about how someone got a name like Starscream. Mick had a lot of sympathy for Starscream because none of the other Mechs had any respect for him. How could he lead with no one following?

This time he had been very secretive, something which made Lou feel rather uncomfortable. They were a close couple and never had any secrets from each other, this being a first, making Mick feel rather guilty. One could empathise with Lou's feelings of unease over Mick's suspicious behaviour. She had no idea of how much danger she was in or that she was being watched. All it would take is for Mick to put one more foot wrong and for Barricade to receive the message from Starscream than it would be big, bad trouble for Lou and the children. She didn't know this but she was still suspicious.

OOOOOOOOOO

Everything has gone well for Lou, she had a wonderful husband and three beautiful children. She was a tall slender woman with long blond curly hair which at times could become quite unruly; something she wasn't particularly fond of but her husband loved it. She wasn't one for wearing make up-couldn't be bothered with it but she did wear a floral scent; this suited her well as she was a feminine woman. Her eyes were pale blue which complimented her beautiful complexion. She had a good job (a very good job) as a systems analyst with the government. Lou was one of the best.

She also had a beautiful house in a lovely part of town which she enjoyed, especially with her outdoors type of personality, and it was good for their pet Doberman, Ebony. Named Ebony because of her beautiful black coat with perfect tan markings in the right places. Unfortunately she was blissfully unaware of the dramatic change which was about to happen in her life. Especially upon the arrival of giant robots, hostile alien robots-_DECEPTICONS!_ Who happened to know more about her than she knew of their existence. There were also the Autobots who unlike the Decepticons were doing everything they coulDecepticon activity among the humans who they were sworn to protect. They too were unaware of the situation unfolding before their very d to remain a secret, not really wanting to attract unwanted attention or eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer; I do not own Transformers they belong to Hasbro but I do own Clash, Dark Orbit, Lou, Mick, Marianne, Anna, Jodie and Ebony.

**Chapter 3**

**Plans that go astray**

Lou was running late, she was supposed to be meeting her friend Jodie at a coffee shop. They hadn't seen each other for a while and needed to catch up. Lou and Jodie had been best friends since high school, they did everything together. They got married around the same time and their children had grown up together and were all very close friends.

They met at their favourite coffee shop. It was a small coffee shop with gentle wall lights and a large window with the name sprawled across it. On one counter there was an array of cakes and other tempting treats but today the friends just opted for a cappuccino. Lou and Jodie were sitting next to the window but were so busy with their conversation they didn't take any notice of the black and white saleen police car that had just pulled up on the other side of the road or the black Ferrari with black tinted windows parking just behind it.

They'd sat in the coffee shop for about forty minutes and chatted about plans for Marianne's {Lou's daughter} birthday; Jodie was helping to arrange it. After they'd had coffee they were going to go shopping for Marianne's 17th birthday party and buy everything they would need for it. They left the coffee shop unaware of the police car sitting silently on the opposite side of the road, let alone it's motto "to punish and enslave."

As they left the shop they heard people screaming.

"What's all that about?" Jodie asked a little puzzled.

"I don't know "

Lou turned around just in time to see a dark strange metallic creature running towards them closely followed by a black and white one who looked extremely vicious. Their blood red optics glinting narrowly at the pandemonium around them looking for their one victim. Lou and Jodie ran. They had never seen anything like the creatures behind them and they weren't taking any chances.

"What are they?" Lou screamed; terror pouring into each word.

"I don't know. Just ruun!" Jodie screamed.

Looking back Lou was never quite sure how she managed to start running. She was always one for panic first, action later. This time though she did, she ran as fast as she could. They both ran down an alleyway with Dark Orbit and Barricade in hot pursuit.

The alleyway was dark and narrow with a pile of rubbish against the wall up one side, the smell was vile, grating on their noses; Lou hated to think what was lurking underneath the bags of rubbish. On one end was a high wire fence with two gates which had been padlocked together. There was no way the ladies would be able to climb it in time, effectively they were trapped. Trapped like stinking rats, this was so not good!

Reaching forward Dark Orbit grabbed Lou, she screamed and struggled as he kept hold of her squeezing her body. He lifted her to his optic level, she saw his ruby red optics as he glared at her. She could feel the hatred as they bore into her and she wished she could just shrink into his hand and slide away from him. "_This is definitely not happening to me_" she thought as she fought desperately to get away, but it was no use. Accepting what her fate may be she gave up.

Jodie cried as she watched her friend being picked up by something out of this world. He accidentally dropped Lou who fell to the ground with a grunt; she quickly got herself together and managed to escape his attempt to grab her again. Barricade hit him around the head and cursed him in a language they'd never heard before.

"Run" cried Lou.

Jodie just stood there, frozen to the spot. "Ruuuuun" screamed Lou.

Lou had no idea what these creatures were or what they wanted with her. All she knew was that her body was sore from Dark Orbit grabbing her and her clothes were torn, and blood streaked from injuries caused by him grabbing her and dropping her, bruises were beginning to form.

"Help me!" she whimpered as Jodie disappeared from sight.

What shall I do? She wondered crouching unable to stand up. Dark Orbit and Barricade had her hemmed in and they were smirking darkly with sick pleasure at the thought of this lonely, helpless female whimpering for help. Dark Orbit made another grab at her but she managed to ignore the pain and summon up enough strength to lunge forward and avoid another hit from him; she fell in between Barricade's legs. "_Damn_" she thought. Barricade went to grab her but as he did she picked herself up and raced down the alleyway. She didn't know where this courage came from, but she was grateful it showed when it did. Despite the pain she run out of the alleyway and into a nearby car park where she saw a yellow Lamborghini parked. She noticed a grey Pontiac solstice and a yellow Camaro parked in the car park too.

* * *

Sunny, Jazz and Bee had been sent there to watch because Decepticon activity had been spotted in this part of town. They were there to observe not intervene unless absolutely necessary. Optimus didn't think it was prudent to have damage caused to another human settlement. Parts of Mission city still showed signs of the last attack even after two years.

Lou had quickly learnt that the dark cars turned robots were evil but her shocked mind wasn't reasoning properly. Running to a car would take time but if there was an owner she could be saved. She decided to take her chances. Lou ran up to the yellow Lamborghini and banged on the door and the window. She tried rattling the door handle but it wouldn't open. She was desperate!

Sunny had been sitting there for a while, enjoying a peaceful recharge but he still had his scanners on just in case of Decepticon activity. He didn't appreciate being woken up by someone banging his body and pulling at his door. Besides it was going to ruin his paint and he'd have to give himself another polish. "_How dare she_" he thought with disgust.

"Help me" she cried. " A monster is after me , help me."

"Go away, you squishy, puny little organic, you are spoiling my paint work" Lou ran away from the Yellow Lamborghini, cursing him as she did. How could he leave her to fend for herself? Who did he think he was calling her a squishy puny little organic? No wonder humanity was such a mess, just look at this guy. Well she couldn't actually see the guy he must be hiding. Coward! As she ran she screamed; she felt a piercing pain in her left shoulder blade. It felt like someone had stabbed her. She felt a second stabbing pain as another one hit her in her left leg. The pain was excruciating; Lou stumbled as she ran towards a Camaro and Pontiac Solstice parked next to each other. She knew she had to get back up and move to a safe place but her leg and shoulder were not cooperating.

Jazz opened his comm link and radioed to Bumblebee.

"**What's happenin Bee? There seems to be a lot of noise comin from Sunny's direction**"

Before Bumblebee could respond they heard whimpering and the shuffle of feet as Lou collapsed against Jazz in between himself and Bumblebee. Jazz could feel Lou's desperation as she tried to deal with the pain and remove whatever had been used to stab her. He felt sympathy for her as she sat there and tried to come to grips with what was happening to her. Lou looked in horror as she saw the wheels with three sharp blades sitting in her hand "What are these!". She knew they were designed to kill, but the fact that she was alive didn't comfort her at all. She was bleeding and she was starting to feel the effects of shock. She wanted to panic, she wanted to cry out for help but she couldn't. Her whole being had been absorbed in a cloud of pain and fear; she could feel the fear creeping up her body with cold, spiny fingers. Every part of her was absorbed and she became pinned to where she was terrified of being discovered, fearful of what else could happen or when the monsters were going to find her. There would be no relief for her. "_I'm going to bleed to death-not found until the owner of the car arrives._" She prepared herself to die as she prayed to God for help. She had no idea that she was sitting between those who could help her, but then who would?

"**It's a female; what's happened to her?**" he said to Jazz on his internal link.

Shock could be heard in his voice. Before Jazz could respond Barricade crept into the car park.

"**I think that's your answer**" Jazz replied.

Jazz radioed Sunny telling him to sit quietly, because he had put two and two together and realised that Barricade was after the woman who was by now slumped against him and losing consciousness; due to shock and blood loss.

He radioed Optimus Prime and suggested he bring Ratchet along too. Barricade knew the woman was here but he wasn't prepared to extend his search or approach the area of the saboteur or the scout. He knew the front-line warrior was there too but not with the others; he would be severely outnumbered if he tried anything. So he gave up his search and left with Dark Orbit following behind. Lou started to move but stopped quickly when she heard Jazz talking to her.

"Stay right where you are l'il lady. You are badly injured and he may not have gone. He could be hiding to draw you out." warned Jazz.

Lou was grateful to hear a friendly voice and wanted to see the man who spoke to her but she stayed where she was; not wanting to draw attention to herself. She'd already had enough attention for one day and was relieved that somebody happened to be in the car, or so she thought! They too hadn't shown themselves, what was with people today? Then again giant robots could scare anyone into hiding; had they seen them too?

Bumblebee knew that as long as he was where he was, she was pretty much hidden so he stayed put. Transforming was definitely not an option, they had to hide her. To say Jazz was annoyed when he realised she was the person Sunny had been yelling at just a while ago was an understatement. "_I need to speak to Sunny we don't harm humans; she was in trouble he should have helped her. Fragging glitch!_"

As far as Jazz was concerned Sunny should have protected Lou. They were Autobots it was their duty. The strong defended the weak anything else was Decepticon worthy. Jazz could hear the woman as she groaned. Lou was fighting to stay conscious but knew that if she didn't have help soon she was going to die,

"Help me please so-so-some-one p-p-pl-please help me" she cried.

"Hold on honey just hold on help is coming" the voice reassured her.

Jazz and Bee wished there was something else they could do; even transform but that was not an option as they weren't sure if Dark Orbit and Barricade had gone. They couldn't pick them up on their sensors but that didn't mean they weren't lurking around somewhere; waiting to pounce on her at the first opportunity.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer; I do not own Transformers they belong to Hasbro but I do own Clash, Dark Orbit, Lou, Mick, Marianne, Anna and Ebony. Yippee!**

**Chapter 4**

**Lou is rescued**

Ratchet arrived in the car park and transformed. He looked in horror at the state of the woman and the silver blood stained wheels held loosely in her hands, he bent down and softly took them from her. He had such sympathy for her, for anybody caught up in their war, but to be injured like this was almost too much for even a trained combat medic like him to bear.

All he wanted was for this war to end so that everybody could live in peace. It all seemed pointless now. Why carry on with this war? He was sure the other Autobots felt the same way, well he couldn't answer for Ironhide, but maybe he too wanted it to end so that he could live out his days in peace and have his beloved Chromia back. She was on Cybertron with Elita and the other femmes fighting up there.

"Help me" Lou whispered, too weak by now to talk.

"Shh" he said. "Try not to talk, we will help you" He soothed.

Optimus arrived with Ironhide, Sideswipe and Clash, a fairly new arrival. The Autobots were glad he had arrived safely and survived the brutal civil war. He was small but what he lacked in height he made up for in strength.

They looked at Lou with concern, Optimus mentioned Prowl had taken another lady back to base who was distraught because her friend had been hurt by monsters. He wondered if this was the friend and how she had got caught up like this. He also feared that both these women may have children and what would happen to them if the Decepticons got hold of them. Ironhide walked up to Prime.

"We searched the town but we can't find any sign of them. They aren't showing up on our scanners. The cowards have fled." He said venomously.

Ironhide was disgusted with what they did to the human. He hated to see innocents caught up in their war including this poor being. Nothing ever prepared him for some of the sights he has seen over the vorns, even though he was an old seasoned soldier

Ratchet gently picked her up and handed her to Optimus so she could be placed into the back of him and transported her back to base. Taking her to a hospital was not an option as both Barricade and Dark Orbit had fled. The Autobots thought that they may find her, she obviously has become the centre of their attention which worried him greatly.

Lou had responded to none of this, she was dazed and barely conscience, unaware that she was surrounded by more giant robots.

"I want a report about this later Jazz and Bumblebee, now lets get back to base before anyone sees us."

Nothing else was said, they all transformed and left the car park.

* * *

Lou came around to brightness. She couldn't see anything else her eyes wouldn't focus and her head, shoulder and knee were so sore. She groaned.

"shh, no one's going to hurt you." said a deep voice. "Do you have any pain?" she nodded.

She could feel something being injected into her arm and started to relax as relief from the pain came; whatever she'd been injected with was working very quickly and she was grateful. She felt safe here, very safe, she didn't know why; she just did.

Ratchet watched her as her face begun to show signs of the pain subsiding. He found it so easy to tell when the humans were in pain just by their body language and expressions on their faces. He had a sharp optic for detail and he never missed anything, much to their embarrassment. Sam knew about this.

Lou started to come around again; she could hear noises but her head was too fuzzy to make out what they were. Eventually it started to clear; she could hear voices arguing, over her? Prowl had burst into the Med bay informing Ratchet that he _needed_ to speak to Lou about the events in the alleyway and car park and why Decepticons would want to harm her. He had already spoken to Jodie who had been very helpful. As far as Ratchet was concerned anybody who _dared_ to burst into his Med bay in that manner was deserving of a good aft kicking,

"She is my patient and you will leave her alone until I say she is fit to talk to you about what happened." argued Ratchet.

"I need to write a report for Optimus." by this time Prowl was beginning to get rather frustrated.

"What about her friend?" Ratchet always liked to find solutions rather than be caught up in arguments, he believed they achieve nothing.

"She has been very helpful but cannot help anymore. I need Lou's testimony to fill in the gaps." Prowl replied. Ratchet was frustrated, air escaped his vents as he huffed.

"Tell Prime to come and talk to me" he sighed "in the mean time you will leave her alone!"

Ratchet was much more forceful this time, she was his patient and needed to rest _slag it!_ he was not happy about Prowl walking into his med bay making such demands. When he next saw Prime he was going to talk to him about this. He was stomping around his Med bay muttering in a language Lou recognised to be the same the other Mechs used in the alleyway between each other.

Fully awake now Lou looked around at her new surroundings. Everything was huge, it was… imposing. She heard footsteps coming towards her, and quickly tried to sit up but a large metallic hand gently pushed her back down again. When she looked at the hand she became afraid. " _They got me_" she thought desperately as panic started to get the better of her.

She was about to scream when she saw a face looking down at her with concern. She noticed a difference between this face and that of her attackers, she especially noticed the neon green colour of Ratchet's armour and his crystal blue eyes. He looked almost friendly but Lou wasn't prepared to accept him as a friend yet, she was too scared and the others in the alleyway had hurt her.

"Well, at last you've finally decided to come back to the land of the living" said the green mech. " My name is Ratchet and I am the CMO here."

"Where am I ?" she asked hostilely, she was frightened, in pain and angry that she had been put in this situation "_Whoever did this to me is soooo going to pay" _she thought venomously.

She was not going to cooperate, she would not be an easy hostage, _dammit_! She was Lou, she had a stubborn streak, if she was gonna die she was gonna make it painful for them to!

Not knowing her misunderstanding Ratchet raised an eyebrow ridge at the tone of her voice. Usually Mechs were grateful to see his face when they came out of unconsciousness to find themselves safe in Ratchet's Med bay. "_Fiery little thing, she won't get away with talking to me like that much longer"_ he thought to himself. Even if he couldn't put a wrench to her helm there are other ways to teach patients their manners

"You are in the Autobot base, we thought it would be safer to bring you here rather than take you to a hospital because Barricade and Dark Orbit got away. They obviously are quite interested in you, but we will talk about that later, you just need to rest. Oh and one thing you need to know, this is your home for a while and you are under my care, so you will do exactly as I say. Understand?" he said firmly just to let her know he was not a Mech to upset.

Lou just nodded, not wanting to get him annoyed, he was big. He walked away leaving Lou to wonder who Barricade and Dark Orbit were and why they were interested in her. She also wondered about her children and where Jodie was. Not to mention the state of the car she was leaning against and how the owner would have felt when he came back to find his car covered in her blood. "_And who on earth are the Autobots"_ she thought. Her wonderings were interrupted by Ratchet's return.

"Someone is here to see you" Ratchet said coming back to her.

He lifted Jodie up onto her berth. Jodie was a short, slim woman with short red hair and brown eyes which always sparkled. She always looked feminine no matter what she was wearing or what she'd been through. But right now she looked concerned; her brow was furrowed and she looked totally phased out. Lou knew she'd been worrying; after all Jodie did a lot of that. Lou started to cry and say she was sorry. Jodie comforted her and told her about how she found Prowl who helped her. He brought her back here, she was able to talk to Optimus and tell him what happened.

"Lou" she said " you saved us by sending me away. Oh and don't worry about your children, they are here with my children. Optimus suggested they should stay here with us just in case of another attack." She didn't want to tell Lou about how the Autobots feared the Decepticons could go after her children; not for now anyway. A panicked Lou in full-blown mother mode was scary and Lou was relieved to hear her children were safe.

"Alright that's enough now, Lou needs to rest" Ratchet said lifting Jodie down. He sat Lou up so he could check her wound on her shoulder, she started panicking again.

"Calm down!" he said "I'm not going to hurt you I just need to check your wounds. You need to learn to trust me, you will be in here a long time."

"I understand you asked Sunny for help first in the car park" Ratchet noticed her stiffen at the reference to Sunny and the car park. He didn't miss the tension in her voice as she tried to hold back tears. The memory of those events was still very painful.

"If you are talking about a vain yellow Lamborghini driver, then yes I did. He told me to go away." Ratchet smiled at the reference of a driver, and Lou's description fit him perfectly. Vain little glitch that he was.

"He is in the brig at the moment because of his actions. More harm came to you because he wouldn't help you."

"There were some others in the car park who helped me. Who were they? One of them was talking to me but he never showed himself. I can't say I blame him. I'd be scared to come out of my car too if those things were hanging around town" Ratchet started to feel her relax as she talked to him.

"They are my friends, they protected you in the car park"

"In that case I need to thank them" said Lou as Ratchet gestured for her to turn over so he could check her wound behind her knee, it was starting to heal well. Ratchet was always intrigued with how quickly a human's skin knitted together. It amazed him that someone could have such deep cuts and yet the healing process was already well underway.

* * *

Deep in the Decepticon base Dark Orbit and Barricade had returned and were now reporting to Starscream what had happened. In the ops room sat a human man, listening to the conversation,

"What do you mean you don't have the female" Starscream sneered,

"Dark Orbit dropped her and she got away. She went to a car park where there were three Autobots" Barricade replied. Starscream's optics narrowed into slits as he looked from Dark Orbit to Barricade. He moved towards both of them,

"You have failed me. Now we won't be able to get her, the Autoscum will protect her" he snarled menacingly. "You will pay for this, nobody fails me. I want that weapon and I want that female. Now get out of my sight before I permanently offline you both." It then occurred to Starscream that if she went to their base she may find out about the weapon. "_ This could work in our favour. I still have the chance to be victorious"_ he thought with glee.

Barricade glared at Dark Orbit and cursed him in Cybertronian.

He was livid that he had to get into trouble because Dark Orbit had dropped Lou.

Mick looked up at Starscream then quickly looked away as Starscream moved toward him. He bent down so he was optic to eye and snarled darkly,

"You need to complete the task or you will pay for this too. We will find your wife and when we do she will give us the information about the weapon and you will no longer be necessary if we haven't disposed of you already."

"You leave her alone she has done nothing to you" Mick yelled. He could feel the anxiety rising as he feared the outcome for his wife.

"Oh but that makes no difference to us she is still human. Let's call it.. a little incentive; if you give us what we want then no harm will come to her, if you don't well I don't think I need to say anymore" he sneered darkly. He got up and stomped away smirking evilly leaving Mick on his own fearing the worst for his family.

**Well that was chapter 4. hope you enjoyed it. Please review constructive criticism always welcome.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer. Transformers are not mine they are Hasbro's. The ones that are mine are Dark Orbit, Clash, Lou, Marianne, Anna, Mick and Ebony.**

****

Chapter 5

**Regrouping**

Lou spent most of her time coming in and out of sleep, which could be expected considering all the trauma she'd been through. She woke up from a peaceful sleep to hear voices. Ratchet's she recognised but there was another deep, baritone one which she didn't recognise.

Jodie had told Lou about Optimus and how he was gentle and kind and had the loyalty of his Autobot troops. Lou listened but she wasn't really concentrating on what Jodie was saying because she was still high on pain killers, whatever Ratchet was using on her had the desired effect. But Lou wondered if this was Optimus Prime in the Med bay talking to Ratchet.

She wanted to know where her husband was and if he was alright, the last time he had spoken to her he shouted at her because she wouldn't stop questioning him about his job. Now she was in the Med bay of the Autobot base with a grouchy medic; not really understanding what it was those frightening monsters wanted. What had she done? How had she got involved in this? whatever this was! These were questions which kept floating around her head and nobody seemed to care about it. Ratchet had a feeling something was worrying her but he wasn't going to intrude; he felt it wasn't his place to, he hardly knew her. "_Maybe Optimus Prime can answer my questions for me" _she thought hopefully.

She heard footsteps coming toward her, she turned her head slowly to see who it was. Optimus Prime came up to her berth and knelt down to her level.

He looked at her with his large blue optics and appeared to be studying her. He was blue and red with flames and stood about 20 feet tall. He had an air of authority about him but he also appeared to be gentle and friendly. Once again Lou was wary. She knew he was probably okay; Jodie had said so but then Jodie wasn't the one who was hurt by the others in the alleyway.

" Hello Lou" he said with a smile in his voice " I trust you are being looked after well" Lou simply nodded, too scared to say anything.

"Good. When you are feeling better I would like to talk to you about what happened, but right now just rest." Ratchet came up behind Prime who turned around and patted him on the shoulder as if to say well done and left the Med bay.

Lou looked at Ratchet,

"When can I go home?" she asked sharply. He shrugged

" When I think you are well enough and we can guarantee your safety"

" But I need to pick some things up" Lou argued.

" We will take care of that but until then you are here and in my care so you will go when I say you can" He found this human female to be quite irritating at times. Lou huffed, "_Who does he think he is_"

" I am the medic" was the answer she was _not_ expecting. She growled in frustration.

" When can I see my children?" she asked.

"Jazz and Bumblebee are bringing them later." came the short reply. "You ask a lot of questions." he said irritably.

" Sorry" she said. Ratchet looked at her thoughtfully, she did look lonely and sad laying there. "_ Poor human! How have you managed to get caught up in our war."_

* * *

While Lou was in Ratchet's med bay Will took Jodie and Marianne to pick up some stuff for Lou and the children; and Ebony their pet Doberman too who was looking a little sad. She came bounding up to Jodie and Marianne her tail wagging to show how pleased she was to see them. She sat in front of Marianne who stroked her head. Neither of them had any idea of the sort of reaction they'd get from Ironhide when they got to him with Ebony in tow.

Ironhide had taken them to Lou's house; he didn't mind their belongings but a dog? He cringed.

"That's a canine" he growled.

"Yeah?" questioned Jodie.

"She is not going in my cab." Unfortunately for Ironhide Jodie was not in the least bit phased by this grumpy, obnoxious mech. Marianne huffed at Ironhide when she heard this and folded her arms across her chest.

"Well what do you expect us to do with her? I mean we can walk back to the base and you can carry their things, if that's what you want? or she can go in your cab! It will take longer to walk though considering we are over 1 hour from the base. Oh and she's only a puppy so that would be too far for her. Therefore in conclusion either way you will be carrying Ebony." Ironhide raised an optic ridge, he had never had anyone stand up to him like that before especially a tiny fleshling. He was rather surprised with her reaction.

"Fine then but if she does anything to my inside. You. Will. Clean. It." he yelled. Jodie looked at him and smiled.

"OK" she said with a smirk then under her breath so she thought he couldn't hear.

"Grumpy old goose"

"Heard that!" he called, if anyone were able to see his face they'd have seen him smirking. Jodie and Marianne loaded the belongings they had put together. they got into the cab with Ebony and drove off.

When they got back to the base the twins were outside. They looked as Ebony jumped out of the cab and started laughing.

"**Don't say anything**" he roared over his comm link. Other mechs came outside to see what the commotion was about and started laughing at Ironhide who merely stomped inside muttering to himself. Even Ratchet heard about this and found it quite amusing. "_The twins will have no end of fun with this one he thought."_

* * *

Later that day Sarah Lennox turned up with Annabelle and a meal for Lou. She went into Ratchet's Med bay, he turned around to see who had just entered and was happy to see Sarah,

"Hello Sarah, Hello Annabelle" he said as he scooped them both up. "What brings you here?"

"Oh we thought that Lou could use some company and food as she is now awake, and ask if she'd mind if her children came to our place for a while. Give them a break from the base and…"

"I think that would be a good idea" Ratchet interrupted. "Come I'll take you to her. I'm sure she'd appreciate the company" Ratchet carried Sarah and Annabelle to Lou's berth,

"Someone to see you" he said as he lowered his hand.

Sarah immediately got off Ratchet's hand with Annabelle in one hand and the food in the other,

"Hi. How are you?" she asked. "I'm Sarah Lennox and this is my daughter Annabelle."

"Hi" Lou said.

"We thought you would like something to eat so we brought you some food." Lou looked at her and smiled,

"Thank you. I was beginning to feel hungry. I haven't eaten for a long time."

I was wondering if we could take your children to our place for the day tomorrow. They would be safe, Ironhide would be there as well and so will Will, my husband." Lou nodded, then looked down sadly, Sarah didn't miss this,

"Hey you okay? Did I say something wrong?" an expression of concern crossed Sarah's face,

"Noo, no I just haven't seen my children since the attack and I have been worried about them. Jodie told me they are okay but I haven't seen them." a lump started to form in her throat as she thought about them and Mick and her life which has been disrupted in such a violent way. Sarah put a hand on Lou's arm, she could understand how upset Lou would be about that.

"Ratchet" she called firmly. Ratchet came up to Lou's berth and looked concerned when he saw how upset Lou was,

"What's wrong?"

"Lou's children, she's not seen them yet. Why not?" Sarah asked.

Air escaped Ratchet's vents. He realised he had been a bit hard on her when she asked to see her children. Family units were important to the humans, he'd overlooked how concerned Lou may have been for them. He had heard how protective mothers can be and didn't want the wrath of this mother upon him. He looked at her sympathetically,

"You will get to see them." he reassured "I will ask Jazz and Bumblebee to bring them to the Med bay. Have your food and I will call them to bring your children here." Lou nodded, then she looked at Ratchet,

"Thank you" she whispered. Ratchet smiled at her and gently rubbed her head with his massive hand. She then looked at Sarah,

"It's okay if you take them for the day. I know they get bored easily."

"Good. I'll arrange for Ironhide to pick them up and bring them to our house and back again. He won't mind."

"Who's Ironhide?" Lou asked,

"Another Autobot and our guardian. I expect you'll have one as well as your children in view of the attack upon you."

Lou didn't like that idea, she was capable of looking after herself always has done and always will be.

* * *

Jazz and Bumblebee turned up in Ratchet's Med bay later that day with her children and Ebony.

"What's that? get it out of my med bay!" Ratchet yelled. Lou looked down to see what Ratchet's bone of contention was.

"Ebony!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"Who?" Ratchet asked.

"Ebony our dog; by the way Ratchet Ebony is not an it or a that she's a dog!" He glared at her; but she held her ground and glared back. Jazz and Bumblebee smirked at the sight trying to hold in their laughter. Lou looked in the other direction as she heard a little voice call her and Ratchet left the Med bay muttering something in Cybertronian about femmes being the same no matter what the species.

" Mummy" said her youngest child eight year old Anna.

She had long blond hair which was looking a little unruly as the curls sprung out of her pony tail which wasn't sitting neatly behind her head anymore; it had moved around to the left. She had pale blue eyes and fair skin just like Lou's, she wore jeans and a pink t-shirt with Disney princesses on it. It was Anna's favourite t shirt, which also looked dirty from being continually worn a few days, but this was Anna. She was not a tidy child, she would always be the one to be dirty first, Lou gave her children a huge cuddle. She looked at Marianne.

" I'm sorry honey, I didn't get a chance to get anything for your party or birthday."

" Oh Mum, I have been so worried about you, it won't be much of a birthday, I'm just relieved you are alive." Marianne was a very neat girl, everything about her showed how careful she was about how she looked from her neat shoulder length, straight brown hair to her denim skirt and white tiger t shirt. She was just like Mick and she certainly had his brown hair and brown eyes. Marianne did like the security of knowing where her mother was, she always has. When she was younger she'd get fretful if her mum went out and left her too long. Then there was Lou's son, Michael, but he was away at university studying. Marianne loved animals and had high hopes of being a wild animal vet.

Hearing that it was Marianne's birthday soon, and how Lou was unable to do anything gave Jazz an idea. When Bumblebee saw Jazz he knew he was planning something.

"We're going out for the day tomorrow Mummy with Ironhide. I like Ironhide he's so big, grumpy and funny"

"I know you're going out tomorrow."

"How do you know mummy?" Anna asked,

"I spoke to Sarah today."

"Ohhhhh. She's nice"

"She is isn't she. You have fun tomorrow. And behave!" Lou said as she kissed Anna on the head. Anna started dancing around on the berth, she always liked to dance and went to ballet classes on Saturday mornings.

Jazz and Bee smirked,

"Don't let Ironhide hear you say that." Bee said with a smile as he picked Anna up to before she fell off the berth. Jazz looked at Lou.

" Hey there princess, how yer doin?" he asked. "You certainly had us worried there for a while, thought we were gonna end up with orphans." Marianne glared at him. Lou looked at him, not sure how to take him. She smiled,

"Not likely!" she said. " You must be Jazz"

"Sure am" he said with a smile " and this is Bumblebee" Bumblebee looked at her with a smile and waved. He was still finding talking difficult so he spoke through his radio.

" Nice to meet you" he said.

" Nice to meet you too, thank you for helping me the other day. I am really grateful for what you did for me." they smiled at her and nodded. Lou looked at Jazz, she recognised his voice from the car park.

"I am so sorry." she said. Jazz looked shocked.

"Wha for l'il lady? you did nothing!"

"I bled all over you"

"Don't worry about that. We were just happy to be there when we were."

Lou shuddered as she thought about what might have happened if they weren't there. "_Don't go there Lou!"_ she thought to herself firmly. At that moment the door to the Med bay swished open and in walked Ratchet with Sunny. He'd been brought up to have his communications and weapons systems put back online; they had been offlined for the time he spent in the brig.

" Here's Hatchet, I mean Ratchet" said Jazz grinning from one side of his face to the next. Ratchet glared at him but Jazz knew he could get away with it. Sunny sat on another berth near the one Lou was on with his back to her, he wouldn't look at her. As far as he was concerned she was still a disgusting squishy but he also accepted that he was wrong. Lou turned her head and looked over at him, her smile quickly disappeared when she recognised the yellow colour as that of the Lamboghini who refused to help her.

"Sorry" he said without looking at Lou,

"Is that it?" said Jazz incredulously. "This lady was harmed because you refused to help her, she deserves more than "Sorry" he yelled.

"That's enough!" bellowed Ratchet, "he said sorry" he looked over at Jazz from where he was standing with Sunny,

"But" said Jazz. Ratchet glared at Jazz and picked up a wrench. Jazz knew it was best not to carry on. Lou looked at Sunny she didn't know whether to cry at him or yell at him. She felt so hurt and angry that this Autobot who was sworn to protect human life turned her away. Her eyes started to fill with tears as she summoned up the courage to ask one simple question,

"Why wouldn't you help me?" Her voice had disappeared all she could do was whisper as tears rolled down her cheeks. Sunny walked over to her just as Ratchet finished putting his two systems online. He dropped to her level his spark torn by the one question he didn't know how to answer. He looked at Ratchet who raised an optic ridge and walked towards them.

"Well answer her!" he demanded.

"I don't know Lou. I'm so sorry I let you down I shouldn't have done that. All I can do ask is that you can forgive me for my actions and the harm I caused you"

Lou didn't say anything she simply sat there, it was not going to be easy for her to forgive him. She went to him for help but he ignored her just because of his selfish vanity.

She looked at him and nodded as she drew up her knees and cried into her arms which were wrapped tightly around her knees. Sunny wasn't sure what to do next, he wanted to comfort the woman. He sat on the berth and reached out his hand gingerly touching her shoulder but she pushed his hand away and turned her back on him. She would forgive him but she wasn't ready to yet; the memories of that terrible day were still too fresh in her mind.

Bumblebee pushed Sunny away as he sat down next to Lou and scooped her up in his massive hand and held her close to his spark chamber where it was warm and gently rubbed her back. Jazz took Sunny by the arm and led him away; he couldn't blame Lou for feeling the way she did, but hoped she would forgive him.

Sideswipe suddenly burst through the door, his spark reacting to Sunny's emotion. He saw everybody in the Med bay and decided that now was not the time to ask questions,

"Come on buddy!" Jazz said "Just give her some time cuz she's still hurtin"

* * *

Meanwhile in Decepticon headquarters an invisible, silent Mech was stalking the halls and corridors undetected. He had been sent there by Prime to spy on the Decepticons and find out about the human male known as Mick. Lou's husband! He came upon a human working on a programme. The silent Mech wondered why a human would help Decepticons, it was beyond his ability to comprehend this man's actions. He decided he would try to find out what he was there for and give him the option to leave. Mirage heard footsteps, he quickly darted to a safer place to observe what was happening in the Decepticon ops room. It was Starscream,

"Have you managed to complete your task yet?" he spat.

"N-n-n-no St-st-starsc-scream I haven't" the human stammered.

"What!" Starscream yelled as he hit Mick around the head. "You refer to me as Lord Starscream." Mick quickly appeased Starscream and then carried on with his work. His head started to bleed and was thumping from the force of the blow.

"Why haven't you done it yet? Look at me when I'm talking to you" Mick turned around but wouldn't look Starscream in the optics. Starscream grabbed his face and moved it so Mick had no choice but to look his ruby red optics narrowed dangerously into slits as he studied the human.

"Because it's impossible their systems are very secure. I can't hack into it."

"Liar!" he roared "How dare you lie to me" he snarled dangerously. "Barricade!" he yelled. Barricade entered the ops room.

"Yes my lord" he growled.

"Take this pathetic excuse for a human into a cell" Barricade grabbed Mick and carried him to his cell.

Mirage followed him, he waited for Barricade to leave then switched off his cloaking device and spoke to Mick,

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm working" Mick answered. Mirage was perplexed by this; what was a human doing working for Decepticons?

"How did you come to be here? And what are you working on" Mick was now suspicious of Mirage, he didn't know who he was or where he was from.

"I was invited to work with them and I can't tell you what I'm working on I've been sworn to secrecy? Who are you anyway?"

This really didn't surprise Mirage one little bit; he knew whatever Starscream was up to it was no good. Mirage was going to tell Mick who he was but thought he would be better off keeping his identity secret. After all he was deep in the Decepticon base and Mick wasn't being very trustworthy. He needed to keep his options of escape open.

"You don't have to stay here, you can leave I can get you out now." Mirage offered.

"Why would I want to leave? This is my job I am happy here."

That was such a lie and Mick knew Mirage wasn't convinced. Mirage shook his head at that and left Mick; but first he gave Mick a device so he could contact the Autobots if he needed help. Mick took it and stuffed it in his pocket before the Decepticons appeared. As he looked up Mirage had gone which intrigued Mick because he didn't hear or see him.

Mirage returned back to the Autobot base and reported everything back to Optimus Prime.

* * *

The next day Marianne had got Anna up and ready to go to the Lennoxes for the day. They got dressed and were having their breakfast when they heard the familiar noise of Ironhide's engine. Ironhide stopped and opened his door so that Will could get out,

"Hello Kids" he said cheerfully as Ironhide transformed,

"Hi" they both said quietly. Ironhide walked toward the children,

"Ironhide!" Anna cried as she run up to him. Ironhide rolled his optics as Sunny, Sides and Jazz watched,

"Hello Scallywag" he said as he lifted her above his head. "You ready?" Anna nodded vigorously, Marianne approached him more cautiously still a little wary of this big black Mech. He bent down and lowered his hand. Marianne looked at him,

"Well I don't bite" he said, "Up you get" she gingerly stepped onto his hand and sat down. She was surprised at how warm he felt, Ironhide picked up on her nervousness and so did Sideswipe. he opened his comm link and spoke to Ironhide,

"**Gentle with her. She's a little shy"**

"**Yeah, yeah, yeah!" **Ironhide said as he stomped out.

He put Marianne and Anna down next to Will so he could transform and opened his door. Will, Marianne and Anna jumped in and they drove off.

**One more chapter to go then I will write a chapter on Mick. **

**Hope you enjoyed this one. I enjoyed writing it.**

**Please review constructive criticism welcome.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Discalimer: Transformers do not belong to me. Own characters are Dark Orbit, Clash, Marianne, Lou, Anna, Mick and Ebony.**

**Chapter 6 **

**Questions and birthdays.**

It had been 2 weeks since Lou had come round, her wounds were almost healed and Ratchet had released her from the Med bay. Lou was excited about being able to go home and put her life back together again. Ratchet gave her one last scan but Lou wasn't really cooperating with him,

"You know if you don't sit still I will keep you in here longer than you have to."

"Hummph!" she sat still for a while reluctantly. "Do you have to do this scan? It's not like you haven't done one before, You do one on me almost everyday Ratchet"

Ratchet chuckled at her as she made her feelings known about the scan he insisted she had to sit still for.

"Yep" he stopped scanning, picked her up and headed for the door. This pleased Lou as far as she was concerned Ratchet couldn't get her out of the Med bay quick enough.

"Where are we going?" Lou asked,

"I'm taking you to the Rec room to meet your guardian" Lou was chagrined

"My guardian! What do I need a guardian for? I can look after myself!" Ratchet snorted.

"Yeah sure you can! And what will you do next time you come across Dark Orbit and Barricade?"

Lou put her head down, sadly she knew he was right there _was_ nothing she'd be able to do to defend herself. They came to the door leading into the rec room, Ratchet punched in the code then walked through the door towards four Mechs sitting around the table.

Lou looked around she saw a large, bright room with several huge tables and chairs. She saw another area with smaller chairs, a coffee maker and other various implements used for the making of hot and cold drinks. "_That must be for humans." _she thought.

Sitting around one of the tables were four Mechs all talking and laughing happily, they turned around when Ratchet walked in with Lou,

"Hey Ratch, who've you got there?" Jazz called out. Ratchet opened his hand allowing the four Mechs to see her. When Lou turned around there were four pairs of blue optics looking at her.

Optimus and Jazz Lou recognised but there was a midnight blue one and a black one she hadn't seen before,

"Oh" she whimpered. "I don't think I can do this"

Lou buried herself into Ratchet's palm but he made no effort to hide her. He knew Lou would be okay soon, she was a strong woman who had faced a terrifying ordeal so she'd be able to cope with this.

Ratchet continued to walk towards them until he got to Optimus Prime. He stopped just in front of Prime who gently grabbed Lou by the waist with his thumb and index finger, picked her up and put her in his other hand,

"Hello Lou" he said with a warm tone in his voice "Welcome to the Autobot headquarters. Let me introduce you to everybody."

"This is Jazz who you already know, he's my third in command." Jazz smiled at her,

"How yer doin Princess? Ratchet finally released you. Good to see you out of the Med bay" Lou smiled back at him.

"Thank you" she said.

Prime moved around to the black one and introduced him as the weapons specialist Ironhide. He started to power up his cannons but quickly stopped when a wrench landed on his helm, he turned and glared at Ratchet.

Lou smiled at him, he nodded back at her,

"You took my children to Sarah's house" she said,

"Yes I did. You have good children, a little quiet; well Marianne is." he said with a smile. "They really enjoyed themselves Lou" he reassured her. Everybody stared at Ironhide; never had they heard him speak to a human in such a caring manner,

"What!" Ironhide said when he noticed them staring at him.

"I know! Anna told me all about her day. Marianne has always been our quiet one, especially when something has happened to me"

"Completely understandable!" Ironhide said.

Prime then turned to Clash.

"Finally Lou this is Clash. He's going to be your guardian with the help of Bluestreak who will be guardian to your children"

"Hello Lou" he was a quietly spoken Mech with a slight Australian accent to his voice. "We finally get to meet! Nice to see you!" Lou smiled at him.

Clash was a friendly mech, he was Midnight blue with a black battle mask, wings on his back and a silver helmet with a crest going along the top from back to front; at the front of the crest he proudly wore his Autobot logo. He had crystal blue eyes and stood at least 19 feet tall. Clash had proved reliable and loyal during the war on Cybertron and Optimus knew he would take the position of guardian of Lou seriously.

"Hello Clash" she said. She wasn't quite sure what to do next so she sat in Optimus's hand feeling a little conspicuous with everyone looking at her. Ratchet stepped forward,

"Take care of her Clash"

"Don't worry Ratchet I will." he took her from Optimus's hand,

"Come on Lou let's take you to your quarters" they both walked out of the Rec room. On the way a blue blur rushed past them talking at a very fast rate, he came back and looked at Lou,

"Hello Lou it is nice to meet you. You are in good hands with Clash. Anyway I must dash I have to get to a meeting. Byeeeeeee'" he continued to rush down the corridor,

"Who was that?" Lou asked as she chuckled. "I could hardly understand what he was saying"

"That was Blur. Don't worry he always talks like that. You'll soon get used to him." They came to a door, Clash punched in the code; it opened to a very welcoming sight.

Lou was placed on the floor so she could look around her new surroundings. There were three beds in the room and a basket for the dog surrounded by her toys. There was a bedside table with a lamp and a few photos of her family on it. She walked over to the table and picked up the photos, she smiled as she remembered the happy times.

Their belongings were against the wall for her to sort out, there was another door which led to a bathroom complete with a shower and their toiletries. The room had a smaller door next to the tall one which she assumed was for her to enter in.

"I hope you like it" Clash said. "We got Jodie to get some belongings for you and sort out your room. You can make up your own security number, it can be any number personal to you but you will need to let Red know; he is our security officer"

Lou didn't say anything, she just nodded as she continued looking around.

"It's perfect. Thank you Clash." she smiled at him as she sat on a chair in the corner of the room. "_Not quite home but I will be comfortable._" she thought.

Clash got down to her level.

"Lou" he said seriously, "If there is anything I can do for you let me know. We want to help you through this because it's not going to be easy for you." she wasn't quite sure of him yet but nodded in appreciation of his offer.

"Thank you Clash." she said as she smiled.

Everything was so neat and orderly "_typical Jodie_" she thought to herself. She could hear the patter of little feet coming toward her. She looked around it was Anna and Marianne with Bluestreak,

"Hello Mummy" Anna said, "This is Bluestreak and he talks and talks and talks." Marianne, Bluestreak and Clash laughed at her. Lou got up,

"Hello Bluestreak thank you for taking care of my children."

"It's a pleasure" he said. He looked at Marianne, "Remember anything you want I would be happy to help." Marianne smiled,

"Thank you" she said.

* * *

The time had finally come for Lou to talk to Optimus and Prowl about the events that happened to her in the alleyway. She wasn't looking forward to it but knew it had to be done.

Optimus left his office to find Lou who was in the rec room with her children. He watched what was going on with a keen interest, he hadn't seen how parents and children interacted before; apart from when he was in Sam's yard when they first arrived on Earth. One of her children were younger and his observations of Marianne seemed to indicate she was quite vulnerable.

Optimus was standing in the rec room waiting to take Lou to his office where he would talk to her. Lou turned around and saw see him standing there. She nodded and obediently got up, the nerves rising in her stomach.

She knew she had to do this; she wasn't looking forward to it but at the same time she needed answers. Jazz saw her, he came over and knelt to her level. She looked into his face, he had his visor drawn back and she saw the reassurance in his eyes. He placed his hands on her shoulders and faced her.

" Hey princess" he said gently " You'll be ok. Just tell them Lou, they have to know, take your time and tell them what happened"

" I'm scared" she whispered.

It was unusual for Lou to be scared and even more unusual for her to admit it when she was. She could have kicked herself for admitting her fear but nobody said anything to her. It wasn't like she knew of Tranformers before her attack.

"It's going to be like reliving the whole nightmare again" she said quietly

Lou could hear Optimus approach her he bent down and offered his hand for her to step onto. Gingerly she did so. He gently lifted her to his eye level.

" Don't be fearful Lou" he said reassuringly, " I know this will be hard for you, but you are a very brave woman. Come I will take you to my office where Prowl is waiting for you." He turned to Jazz.

" Are Sam and Mikaela around?" he asked Jazz.

"Yes" Jazz replied.

"Ask them to look after Marianne and Anna then please?"

"Yes Prime" said Jazz.

Clash was in the rec room as well. He was leaned casually against a wall talking to Mirage and Hound; he had a cube of energon in his hand which was half drank. Mirage had recently returned from a recon at Decepticon headquarters where he found Lou's husband. He immediately told Prime his findings and his conversation with Mick. "_How did this woman end up with such a glitch" _he had thought to himself. Prime went over to Clash with Lou in his hand, Mirage and Hound pointed towards them. Clash turned around and stood up straight but Prime made a gesture to suggest carry on; he did like to see his Autobot soldiers relaxing and taking time out.

" Clash I'd like you to come with us, it may help Lou if there is someone there who she knows a bit more" Lou was very relieved to hear that. As they left the rec room she could hear introductions going on between Sam, Mikaela, Marianne and Anna; they already knew Bumblebee.

They walked down the long, grey corridors to Prime's office. As he opened the door Lou saw a huge desk with 4 chairs, Prowl was sitting in one chair to the front of the desk with a data pad in front of him. There was soft lighting in the office and a picture but Lou didn't take much notice. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry, she felt the colour leave her face and she could feel herself getting dizzy_.__ "NO" _she thought firmly, "_this is NOT going to get the better of me." _She turned to Clash.

" Can I have a glass of water please?" Clash radioed Mirage to fetch a glass of water for Lou.

Prime bent down near a chair so that Lou could get off his hand, she dutifully did so. Her legs felt like they were going to give out from under her so she sat down before she collapsed in a heap as a gibbering wreck. Mirage turned up with a glass of water; he gave it to her. Once everybody had settled Prowl started.

"Hello Lou. We need to ask some questions to find out why you were attacked by the Decepticons and find out what you know" he said with a smile. She weakly smiled back.

"Hello. I don't know if I can help you because up until the attack I didn't even know giant alien robots existed" she said quietly. Prowl didn't say anything he simply nodded,

"Ok let's get started. Lou I want you to go through all the events of the morning you went into town with Jodie"

She paused, closed her eyes and swallowed a lump. "_Typical Prowl_" thought Clash_ "straight into it boots an all." _As she opened her eyes and summoned her strength she started.

"I was going into town to meet up with Jodie and buy Marianne a present. We met in a coffee shop, had a cup of coffee first and a chatted together for a while. Y'know like friends do!" Prowl and Prime nodded and smiled,

"When we left…when we left the coffee shop there was screaming. I uhm I turned a.. I turned around" she stumbled over her words as tears came to her eyes. She could feel Clash place his hand upon hers,

"Take your time" he said gently.

"I turned around at the sound of screaming. Th…there were monsters chasing them.. people I mean. People were running everywhere and screaming, then they saw us." Lou put her head down and tried to compose herself. "Jodie and I….we-we fled. Itwastheonlythingwecoulddo"

"Lou slow down, you're okay." Prowl reassured,

"We went to an alleyway. Th-th-there was no way out, the gates at the end of the alleyway were locked and too high to climb. We were trapped. I told Jodie to run, she wouldn't at first but I didn't want her getting hurt as well so I insisted she run. We had no idea what these creatures were or what they wanted from us." Prowl and Prime looked at each other "She left and… I was alone" she whispered the last part as tears coursed down her face,

"Dark Orbit picked me up and squeezed me around the waist. I was face to face with him. I will _never_ forget his eyes. _Bloodred_ eyes." she spat through gritted teeth but then she started to sob,

"H-h-he dr-dr-dro-opped m-me. I managed to escape being grabbed by Dark Orbit again by lunging myself forward but I fell between Barricade's legs. He-he went to grab me but I escaped. I run to a car park. There was a yellow Lamborghini in the car park. I run to him for help but he told me to go awaaaayyyy" at this point Lou could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

"I'm so so-so-sorrrrryyyyyyy" she cried. Prowl, Prime and Clash sat there and waited until she calmed down,

"Lou" Prime said gently, "If you want to we can carry on some other time"

"N-no. I want to carry on. I'll be okay." she sat there sobbing as Clash rubbed her back. Eventually she calmed down,

"The Yellow Lamborghini, Sunny I believe he's called" Prowl and Prime nodded,

"He called me a disgusting organic or something like that.

Lou could feel that lump in her throat growing again, she kept saying to herself over and over again I can do this. She closed her eyes as she fought the urge to burst into tears again and started to talk slowly,

"I run to where Jazz and Bumblebee were but on the way I was hit by some sort of weapon. The pain, I will never forget the pain…and the fear of dying…alone! I sat between Jazz and Bumblebee and…I uhm…I…can't remember anything else. I just kept blacking out and lost all concept of where I was and what was happening. I could only feel pain but I remember hearing Jazz's voice but I can't remember what he was saying."

"I'm sorry",

"No Lou" Prowl said "You've done well." he said as he finished Lou's account of what happened on a data pad. He then looked at Lou,

"Do you know why they chased you?"

Lou noted the tone of concern in his voice. She simply shook her head.

"Tell me about your husband Lou" Prowl asked.

"What do you want to know?" she asked quite puzzled at this question.

"Well what does he do?"

"He works as a computer analyst working mainly on security programmes. Why do you want to know about him? What's he done?" Lou asked hostilely.

It then occurred to them that Lou was oblivious to her husband's work and who he was working for. Prowl and Prime looked at each other,

"**She has no idea what is going on or that her husband is working for Decepticons, who's going to tell her?**" Prowl said to Optimus over his private comm link.

"**I'll tell her**" Prime said.

He looked at Lou, she could see the pain in his eyes.

" Wh-what do you know?" she asked.

" Lou what I'm about to tell you is going to be very painful for you. We heard about Mick and his work, we also heard about where he worked, we received the information from Mirage. He went to the Decepticon base because he heard they were up to something, he found Mick there. Lou your husband is working with the Decepticons, we don't know what his work involves although we have our suspicions ."

Lou could feel the ground opening up and getting ready to swallow her whole. She couldn't _believe_ that her husband had betrayed her like this.

"Can't you go and get him?" was her quiet reply.

Prowl spoke this time.

" Mirage spoke to him about leaving but Mick told him he was happy there. He may have been trying to protect you Starscream can be very manipulative and dangerous when he wants to be. He will use something close to a Mech or in this case a human to get what he wants. He now has to ask for help because he told Mirage he was happy there."

"Lou how did he get involved with them?" Prime asked,

"He responded to a job advert in a paper. It was for some company working with security. I told him to check them out because they seemed to be a company my company would do business with but he didn't he just applied for it. I'd never heard of them before"

Prowl listened to her then looked at Prime.

"Can you remember who they were?" Prime asked.

"Uhm worldwide communications and security" Lou said.

Prowl sat still as he checked the internet. He shook his head.

"There is nothing about them on the internet. Mirage left him with a way to contact us and ask for help, he hasn't done so yet. You must listen very carefully, we have fought Decepticons for millions of years, we have learnt not to start a fight with them unless we have to. Mirage found no proof that the human race is in any danger or there was anything suspicious going on so we won't be going to get him unless he asks"

Lou was horrified at this.

"But your remit is to protect humans." she argued "He needs protecting"

"Well yes in effect he does but I have a responsibility to my soldiers and friends who also need to be protected from unnecessary battles" Prime replied.

One thing Optimus Prime had learnt as a leader was knowing when to pick a fight with Megatron and the Decepticons and knowing when to leave well alone. Although logic would dictate that they should go and rescue Mick because he is a human and vulnerable; Prime also had to think of everybody else who was either an Autobot or closely involved with the Autobots including Lou, Marianne and Anna. He and Prowl had many discussions over this and neither of them could find any way to rescue him; it was his decision to stay where he was.

Mick's decision really didn't make sense to Prowl and when he was thinking about it he could feel his logic circuits overheating. Optimus Prime was also struggling with Mick's decision because he is a sentient being and he has the right to be free but Prowl had reassured him that Mick was exercising his freedom by making a choice to stay where he was. That was what Prowl was struggling with! "_How could anybody choose to stay with the Decepticons"_ he had thought a few times as he paced his office. He couldn't help but think that either Mick was being deceived by the Decepticons or that he just hadn't worked out that if there was one faction of giant alien robots then there must be another; especially after meeting Mirage

Lou could feel the colour leaving her face and her surroundings fade into blackness. She could hear voices calling her and somebody say,

"Go get Ratchet" she felt herself falling and then caught.

The next thing she knew she was waking up in the Med bay with cool air gently blowing over her. She was a little bit disorientated at first and thought she was back in her house. Then she heard Ratchet's voice talking and it all came flooding back,

"What am I doing back in here?" she asked weakly

Marianne heard her and run to her berth,

" Mum oh mum!" said Marianne as she hugged her mother and cried.

Lou just sobbed, huge heart wrenching sobs. She loved Mick dearly but right now she felt betrayed and hurt. Jodie gave Lou a hug and spoke to her,

" Lou, Prime told me what happened, are you okay?"

"I'll be okay Jodie" Lou replied vaguely

Lou really wanted to have her life put back together again, be back in her house with Mick and the children and be a normal family.

Ratchet left the Med bay to give the ladies some privacy, he went to the rec room and took a cube of energon. He could not understand how a man could be so deceitful to his wife and family; but then was he really surprised considering his earlier observations of sector 7, and how they treated Bumblebee like a hostile alien?

Clash turned up and asked if Lou was okay to leave the Med bay. He was going to take her into town so she could buy Marianne a birthday present. Ratchet shook his head,

" Leave them a minute" he said " Lou has just come around; she's had a shock she needs time."

"Okay" Clash replied.

He went to where everybody else was helping with the party preparations. Ratchet turned around and saw the hive of activity going on in the rec room; he saw Maggie and Glen plating food and Sam and Mikaela putting up streamers.

"what's going on?" he asked firmly.

"Surprise party for Marianne" said Bumblebee with a big smile.

Ratchet smiled. He may be old, he may be battle weary and grumpy, but he did love a good party.

"I'll hang onto Lou and Marianne for a while shall I? Clash, Lou should be ok to go and get Marianne's present now"

Clash didn't have to be told twice he raced to the Med bay to collect Lou.

Meanwhile Red and Prowl were arguing with Prime about the security risk presented if there was a party. Prime slammed both fists on the desk making Red and Prowl jump.

" There will be a party, whether you like it or not" he growled. " I have said they can, we could all use a bit of R&R or life gets very difficult. Now either you come or you don't I don't care but I for one am going to celebrate a birthday with humans. Now. Leave. My. Office" he growled glaring at them dangerously.

Red and Prowl quickly left they knew that they had stepped over the line in questioning Prime's decision to hold a party, they'd never been spoken to by Optimus Prime like that before.

* * *

Clash took Lou out of the Med bay and to the entrance of the base; he transformed into a midnight blue Land Rover LR3, "_Wow"_ thought Lou. She hadn't actually seen them transform, so this was quite amazing to her. Clash invited her to sit in the drivers seat and just hold lightly onto the steering wheel, so it looked like she was driving. Lou was quite content while they were driving into town talking to each other until Lou spotted a police car, Clash felt Lou become tense,

"What's up?" he asked,

" There is a police car in front." she said nervously. Clash scanned the police car but there was no Decepticon signature.

"Don't worry, it is just a human police car" she relaxed again.

They arrived at the mall Clash parked the car and activated his holoform; Lou thought she was in the car alone until she turned around to pick up her bag. She jumped when she saw a human next to her. His dark brown hair was shoulder length and wavy, his skin was slightly tanned. He looked at her with his crystal, blue eyes and smirked at the look of surprise on her face. He wore black jeans, midnight blue t-shirt which showed off his well toned arms and a pair of casual black shoes. Around his waist was a black leather belt with a silver buckle shaped into the Autobot emblem.

"Sorry Lou it's me Clash I didn't mean to scare you."

"I didn't know you could make yourself into a human" she said. It didn't take her long to work out that if the Autobots can do this than so could the Decepticons,

"Yes we can if we need to, but we don't do it too often because it takes up too much energy, but I have activated it now so that you are not wandering around the mall alone. I don't want you wandering alone through the Mall in case anything should happen to you" Lou appreciated this and smiled at him,

"Okay let's go than" she said as she set off through the car park.

It was the first time she'd been out since the attack so she was grateful that Clash could walk into the mall with her. She walked through the doors and stood there listening to the sounds she was familiar with; the clacking of heels on the floor, general noise of happy, chatting shoppers, children crying or squealing and the sounds of beeping checkouts and the clink of money being exchanged. She often came here with Marianne and Anna on a mother/daughter shopping trip or Mick when they met up for lunch, she looked around and enjoyed the familiarity of it all.

She carried on through the mall going in and out of shops; Clash was beginning to find this all very tedious but didn't say anything to Lou because she was enjoying herself. She picked up a present for Marianne and a card, wrapping paper and ribbons. Lou sat down in a café with Clash and had a coffee, she sat there for a while quietly reflecting on the last few weeks. It had been a terrible time but she really wanted to get her life going again, go back to work and get the children back to school, especially Marianne. She looked at Clash he looked back at her as he put his arm around her shoulder,

"Sorry!" she said. He looked at her puzzled.

She was about to carry on when she noticed a man in casual dress, short brown hair which was untidy and dark thick rimmed glasses sitting at a table staring at her menacingly; she was beginning to feel panic stricken at the unwanted attention. Clash looked around to where she was looking and immediately picked up the Decepticon signal; it was Barricade!,

"Lou it is time to return to the base" he said calmly.

Lou stood up and walked out with Clash. He quickly guided her out of the coffee shop and through the mall. The man was following them at a distance, still watching Lou hoping she'd wander away from her guardian, "_What a creep!" _she thought.

Lou knew this mall quite well and quickly found another exit out of the shop they'd just walked into. Clash was following close behind making sure that Barricade couldn't grab her but got him instead. He opened his comm link and called for back up. Lou caught a glimpse of Barricade running after them she started to run as fast as she could out of the shop and through the car park. As soon as they got to Clash's vehicle mode his holoform disappeared. He opened the door for Lou, she quickly jumped in then the door slammed shut behind her. Before Lou had a chance to buckle up her seat belt Clash pulled off, bringing the seat belt around her securely.

"Hold on Lou this is going to get pretty rough.

Lou heard the sound of sirens.

"He's coming" she screamed.

Clash flew down the streets, skidded around a corner and turned into a back street. Part of it was in shadow, he stopped in the shadow and waited as he worked out his next move. Lou was terrified! She could hear her heart thumping loudly and she could feel the adrenalin building up in her system preparing her for fight or flee. Clash could feel her fear, he tried to calm her by wrapping his seat around her a bit more. Lou felt the movement and snuggled in but it only lasted a few seconds as they both heard Barricade's sirens as he approached the street but he flew past the turning. There was a pensive moment as Lou turned to look out of the back windscreen, she didn't dare feel relief, not yet! He stopped and backed up, transformed and walked down the alleyway. He was smirking when he saw the midnight blue landrover parked there, he quietly stalked up to them ready to pounce on his prey. "_Perfect!" _he thought maliciously "_Not only do I have the human but I have the Autobot too."_

"Autobot give me the human" he ordered.

" Not going to happen" Clash said confidently.

"Then I will kill you and take her"

Clash was thinking about his next move because to transform would mean Lou would have to get out which would put her in more danger. He heard other voices he recognised.

"Not so fast you rusty tin bucket." It was Ironhide, Sunny and Sides.

"**Clash go, get Lou to safety. We'll take care of Barricade here." **Ironhide ordered.

Clash pulled away. He turned out of the street and drove off with Prowl and Jazz following them.

" You alright Lou?" Clash asked.

" Yeah, thanks Clash. You were awesome back there" she said.

" I know" he said with a smile in his voice.

Lou could see the base in the distance once they turned onto the deserted road that would lead them to the entrance. Lou heaved a sigh of relief as the seat belt was released and the door opened. She exited the car; as she did she gently rubbed the steering wheel causing Clash to shudder.

"You'd better get to Ratchet's med bay Lou. He may want to check you out" Clash said as he transformed.

"Why?" she asked shortly "I'm fine" she snapped.

"Lou do it" he said firmly.

She reluctantly went to the Med bay, she knew Clash was following her,

"I am going Clash" she said,

"I know you are" he replied.

* * *

She entered the Med bay to see a sour looking Marianne and Ratchet. The room was quiet and the atmosphere was intense,

" Mum Ratchet wouldn't let me leave. He threatened to tie me to a berth if I tried to escape. No wonder everybody calls him the Hatchet." Ratchet carried on with what he was doing but smirked to himself.

"Where's Jodie?" asked Lou.

"Sheee was allowed to go." Marianne said with a hint of sarcasm.

Lou looked at Ratchet.

"Why not Ratchet" Lou asked firmly.

"You'll see!" he replied with a smirk.

"You'll see! What kind of an answer is that?" she yelled.

"Hey don't you raise your voice at me" Ratchet yelled back

" I will raise my voice to who I like" was Lou's sharp reply.

"Then I'll have you thrown in the brig." he growled.

Lou opened her mouth to say something back but decided it was wiser not to, she had seen what he can do.

"**Prime to Ratchet. You may bring in Lou and Marianne now"**

"Come" Ratchet said quietly "It's time to go"

Lou and Marianne obediently went with him. When they got to the rec room he bent down to pick them up. They looked at him.

" Well?" he said sharply. "you'd better get on everybody is in there this afternoon, I don't want you to be squashed"

They stepped onto his hand, he keyed in the code and walked through the door. As they walked through the door everybody yelled.

"SURPRISE!"

Lou and Marianne's jaw dropped. They looked around the room Lennox was there with his family and so was Epps, Jodie and her children, Sam and Mikaela, Maggie and Glen {who was already eyeing the food}; Maggie elbowed him in the ribs; and all the Autobots were there.

The guests were covered in party confetti as a big net with balloons and confetti which was hanging from the ceiling had been released. There were brightly coloured streamers and silver and gold balloons hanging off the wall. There was a long table to the far end of the rec room full of gifts for Marianne which was decorated with a white tablecloth with gold trim and on top there was party confetti of metallic colours. The food was set on the table with the cake in the middle and there was a large container of high grade for the Mechs produced by Wheeljack and Perceptor. Lou and Marianne's eyes filled with tears.

Ratchet held onto them smiling, Lou turned around to him.

"Sorry" she said. Ratchet waved it off.

"Thank you; all of you" Lou said.

Jazz came up to them and looked at Marianne,

"Hey girl it's your party why are you crying?"

"Yeah I only thought humans cried when they are sad. Why are you sad on your birthday Marianne?" bellowed Sunny who was confused.

"Because you've made us happy; we're crying happy tears" Marianne and Lou cried.

They all applauded as the party begun. Lou felt a little hand tug her t-shirt, it was Anna sitting proudly in Optimus Prime's hand,

"Mummy please don't cry" she said. Lou held out her hands to hug Anna. Prime handed Anna to Lou so she could give her daughter a hug, Ratchet enjoyed watching the interaction and smiled.

The party went on for quite some time. The Autobots were enjoying energon, the humans were enjoying the food and drink, everybody was starting to get a little merry. Jazz and Marianne danced to some songs; it wasn't long before more of the Autobots were having a turn at dancing with Marianne. Including a grumpy medic!

"Let's have the cake" someone yelled. Ironhide brought out the cake Sarah had made. It had white icing with green decorations, 17 silver candles and Happy Birthday written in green. They all sang happy birthday before Marianne blew out the candles; the party carried on well into the night. All the Autobots looked so happy and relaxed, even Optimus had lost his constant frown. It was an enjoyable time but soon it came to an end. Everybody returned to their respective quarters after helping to tidy up. Anna had already been put to bed by Sideswipe; she had fallen asleep in his hand earlier that evening.

**That's the end of chapter 6. Hope you liked it.**

**Please review, constructive crititcism always welcome.**

**Next Chapter we meet Mick and see how is coping being with the Decepticons.**


	7. Chapter 7

Usual stuff. I don't own Transformers only my own characters, Clash, Dark Orbit, Lou, Marianne, Mick, Anna and Ebony.

**Chapter 7**

**What have I done?**

Mick was a very smart, professional man who cared very much about his work. He liked to make sure everything was just right. He wasn't obsessive he just believed that if a job is worth doing, then it's worth doing well and people deserved the best. He was a very tidy man and liked to look his best, even in his old work overalls when he was doing something around the house. His short brown hair was always brushed and sometimes gelled and he had deep brown eyes. His face was always clean shaven and he always wore scent, unless he was working around the house. He wasn't vain, he just cared about the way he looked.

He loved Lou and the children to bits, they were his world, but unfortunately for Mick he was very spontaneous and would act first, think later. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing because the family always enjoyed spontaneous trips to the beach, or into the mountains for some camping, or just out for a day. But on this one occasion when he saw the advertisement for the new position his spontaneity let him down, putting his wife and children in grave danger. Applying for the position with this company, supplying programmes for the government to upgrade security systems would turn out to be one of the worst decisions he had made. Lou liked the sound of it but she suggested checking them out first, it wasn't a company she'd heard of before.

* * *

He sat in his cell as he remembered the conversation with his wife on that fateful morning,

"No it will be fine_" _he said confidently_. _"_If only I had done what she suggested_" he thought with regret.

He was hurt, hurt that he'd let Lou down and hurt that the job that was supposed to be brilliant and very well paid wasn't as as good as it looked. He was angry with himself for getting into this situation and in pain from the torture he'd gone through because he couldn't do what the Decepticons wanted.

He remembered Mirage who spoke to him, and looked at the contact details for the Autobot. He thought about contacting him but Mick's pride and a small amount of hope wouldn't allow him to, but that small amount of hope was quickly fading. He wasn't sure who the Autobots were or if he could trust them anyway.

Mick was starting to get very worried about Lou and the children. He overheard a conversation between Dark Orbit, Starscream and Barricade about a woman who had escaped them. They knew this woman was Lou and Dark Orbit had injured her before she managed to escape. He heard Starscream tell them to find her because she would be very useful to them. Starscream was outraged to hear Barricade had allowed the Autobots to take her and her friend. He didn't punish Barricade though, he punished Mick instead. After all Lou is his wife, why should Barricade take the fall for his wife's escape.

Mick wondered what was really going on, Starscream was quite passionate about getting what he wanted. He couldn't help but think that Starscream had an ulterior motive. It occurred to him that he was being used in Starscream's plan for domination of the Earth. He still didn't know what his role or even Lou's role was in Starscream's plan . He knew nothing about the weapon Wheeljack was making. He decided that he would do all he could to protect Lou and his family, no way was he going to allow them to be Starscream's pawn as well.

"How could I have been so stupid" he muttered to himself aloud.

"Shut up!" came the angry reply. Mick jumped when he heard Dark Orbit yell at him. He moved to the front of the cell, the energon bars were humming and as he got closer he could feel the warmth and the effects the electricity was having on his body. The whole front of the cell had an eerie pink glow.

"You have no right to talk, you are just a puny human slave. When Starscream has finished with you, you will die along with your pathetic family." Dark Orbit continued,

"You leave my family alone!" Mick roared.

Dark Orbit laughed at him, he always found winding up Mick was such sport and wondered if the other humans were the same. "_I must try it on other humans one day"_ he mused to himself as he sauntered off. Mick didn't know that Dark Orbit had been watching him, it was dark in the decepticon prison except where the light of the energon bars shone. He moved to the back of his cell and sat down,

"I'm sorry Lou" he cried to no one in particular, "I should have listened to you"

It was quiet in the Decepticon prison but he could hear the distant clang of metal feet on a metal surface, it grew louder as the owner of the footsteps approached him. He stopped crying there was no way these evil freaks were going to see him in his weakest moment. It was Soundwave!

"Starscream wants to see you" he said in his monotone voice.

He keyed in the security code for Mick's cell and the energon bars instantly came down. Mick did all he could to try to make himself as calm as possible, he didn't want to let the Decepticons think that he had been crying or show any other sort of emotion. He wasn't going to let them play on his weakness.

"Come with me, don't try to run away, we have your family"

Mick could almost hear a smirk in this statement. "_Liar_" he thought. He wasn't going to allow them to know that he overheard the conversation between Starscream, Barricade and Dark Orbit. He had to make sure Lou, Marianne and Anna stayed safe. He didn't know they were already safe with the Autobots. Why would he?

"Mick" Starscream snarled. "Have you succeeded?"

"No I-I-I told you it is i-impossible. They have combined human and alien technology. I don't understand the alien technology. And they have intertwined a strand so it can't be separated without alerting them I'm entering their system." Mick stammered desperately.

Starscream approached him and bent down to Mick's level. He grabbed Mick's head between his thumb and forefinger. Mick could feel the pressure on his head as it was being squeezed and forced to turn, so that he had no choice but to look into Starscream's optics. Starscream growled venomously,

"Then you have failed me again you pathetic organic fleshling, you will do what I want and just to help you we are going on a little, how shall I put this…surprise." he said with an evil smirk. Starscream let go of his head. It was sore from the pressure where Starscream was holding him and Mick was sure he could feel the bruises forming

"Where are we going?" the panic was surging through Mick's body as he anticipated the next move of these malevolent beings.

"You'll see! Skywarp!" Starscream yelled. Skywarp arrived and stared down at Mick.

"Yes my lord Starscream" The sneer could be heard in his deep, raspy voice.

How he hated being at his brothers beck and call all the time, he wished Megatron was back. He wished that he was back to the good old days when Starscream was a scientist and worked with Jetfire.

"Take this Fleshy to our little surprise" Starscream ordered.

Starscream had already sent Soundwave there with his cassetticons. Rumble was looking forward to damaging the human's place of residence while Mick was watching. He loved to see humans or any other organic for that matter suffer at the hands of the Decepticons. It could almost be said that it made his day!

"I'm going to enjoy this!" he chuckled to Ravage.

"Where's my family? What have you done with them?" Mick yelled.

"Shut up human" Starscream spat.

He got down to Mick's eye level, Mick was once again eye to optic with Starscream's hateful, ruby optics,

"You would be very wise to choose when and how you speak to us flesh bag. We can still decide to terminate you, there's plenty of other humans to take your place"

Mick suddenly felt himself shrinking at a very fast rate under the evil gaze of Starscream. Skywarp picked Mick up and wrapped his fingers tightly around Mick's waist. Skywarp started to smirk at Mick as he squeezed his fingers causing him to struggle for breath. Mick sat in Skywarp's fist, rasping on each breath he drew in, he started to lose colour in his face and he could feel the blackness close in on him. At that moment Starscram looked around,

"Skywarp! what are you doing?" he snapped. " _Frag"_ he was caught,

"Oohhh Starscream" Skywarp whined "they are so easy to squish, I was just havig a little fun"

"Well, don't. He is still useful to us!"

"Yes Screamer" Starscream reeled on Skywarp,

"What was that? It's Lord Starscream!" Starscream

Skywarp sneered at Starscream before he took off with Mick. Skywarp's fingers had loosened around Mick's waist but he was still in pain as he breathed in and his rib cage ached. Skywarp ran and transformed into his alt mode. He shifted Mick around himself very roughly until he was secure in the cockpit. He didn't harm Mick that wouldn't do, Starscream would then have his aft and that definitely wasn't pleasant. Mick couldn't get comfortable because of his bruised rib cage and he could feel himself going green but resisted the urge to hurl in the cockpit,

"Don't touch anything squishy or I'll throw you out." Skywarp snapped

Skywarp hated the thought of Mick being inside him, he cringed whenever Mick moved._ "Why doesn't Starscream take this squishy? It's his plan why should I have to do all the fetching and carrying? Fragging Glitch!"_ he thought angrily. Mick wouldn't stop struggling against the seatbelt, everytime he tried to look out of the window Skywarp would just pull his belt tighter until eventually Mick was unable to breath again. Skywarp heard the strange noises he was making "_not again!" _he angrily thought to himself.

"Don't you die on me human. I don't want to get into trouble from Starscream again" Skywarp smoked the canopy, Mick turned his head when he noticed how dark it became. He couldn't see anything outside, not even the sky or the setting sun.

"Well loosen the belt then _idiot!_" Mick spat.

Skywarp knew enough of Earth language to know Mick had insulted him. He violently rocked himself causing Mick to fall about the interior and hit his head on the door. Skywarp laughed at him.

They landed in an area familiar to Mick. He looked around and found himself in the park where he used to take the children for walks and play with them. He looked around and saw the outline of the tall buildings in the town against the night sky, their windows lit up giving a soft friendly glow. He continued looking around and came to the huge green where he took Ebony with the children and watched them run around. He could hear their squeals as he remembered the games they played with Ebony who would chase them, or Ebony would chase the ball one of the children had thrown. He remembered the walks he and Lou took with Ebony as they talked. He felt so sad, so lonely but smiled inwardly at the memory "_Oh no!_" he thought with horror expecting them to bring Lou and the girls, but that never happened._ He_ was relieved!

Mick was taken to the street where he lived, he saw his house standing quietly in the suburban street in complete darkness with only the street lamps reflecting off the windows. He stood in front of it desperately fighting the urge to run inside and warn Lou to leave the house, to take the children and _GET OUT!_ He wished he could wake up with Lou next to him, relieved that it was a bad dream. But that wasn't going to happen, this was reality, his reality-not a dream. The next thing to happen shook him out of his thoughts and hurled him tumbling into despair. Starscream got his weapon, aimed it at the house and fired round after round of plasma rays. Bricks, mortar and rubble came tumbling down. Rumble joined and pummelled the house even more, it shook as it exploded and burst into flames engulfing anything that got in their way. The smoke glowing red from the fire.

"Noooooo" screamed Mick as he collapsed.

He was visibly shaking and threw up on the ground, his whole body convulsed with every sob as Starscream, Rumble and Skywarp stood there laughing with evil delight. They could hear the sirens from emergency vehicles, Mick was quickly picked up and dragged back to Decepticon headquarters. He was numb! He lost everything including his house.

He couldn't think about anything else except Lou and his children and questions kept going around in his head, Where is Lou? and is she safe? He crouched in the corner of his cell, put his head on his arms which were wrapped around his knees and sobbed helplessly as he rocked backwards and forwards. He then remembered Mirage and the communication device he was given, he took it out of his pocket and was just about to key in the code Mirage had given him when a voice was heard at the front of his cell,

"What's that, give it to me?" He hadn't seen Skywarp arrive and stand in front of his cell. He shut down the energon bars and grabbed it,

"Ooh trying to call the Autobots are we? Well I might take this to Starscream, see what he thinks of your little plan or perhaps……whoops" Skywarp dropped it on the ground and stepped on it. Mick could hear it crunch, the last bit of hope he had was gone!

"Not another word _squishy_ I've done you a favour" He whispered evilly then walked away.

Skywarp didn't really want to help the squishy but he was going to do as little as possible to aid Starscream in his plan too. Like his brother Thundercracker he had had enough of Starscream's continual orders, he resented Starscream being in command, "_What gave him the right to assume command anyway!" _he bitterly thought. There was never any communication between them now, well not much anyway, except "Skywarp go here, Thundercracker do this, Thundercracker do that, Skywarp fetch this or that or……" Skywarp growled as he walked away from Mick's cell. Mick backed away from the energon bars and slid down the back wall defeated but not broken.

Starscream had spoken to Soundwave and told him to work with Mick. This pleased Soundwave, the thought of hacking into the Autobot systems and humiliating the human when he achieved it was going to be fun. He rubbed his hands as he smirked darkly at the thought of the human squirming when he would achieve what Mick couldn't. He went to Mick's cell,

"Get up _human" _he said in his monotone metallic voice. Mick stood up,

"What now" Mick snarled,

"Silence!" Soundwave bellowed. Starscream came up to Mick's cell,

"As you can't achieve your objective I have given you someone to work with. Don't let me down again!" he snarled dangerously.

Mick looked at the cobalt blue Mech and was about to argue but decided against it, his need for self preservation and survival kicking in. He decided he needed to get out and was going to plan an escape so he had to be careful from now on. He had no idea of the layout of the base, or where there were guards and getting the information was going to be a lot harder now because he would be working with Soundwave.

The energon bars came down again and Mick got up. He was wobbly and unsteady on his legs but summoned up his strength to walk forward. He scratched his head, his hair was matted and greasy from lack of care. He was dehydrated and undernourished which was beginning to show on his athletic physique, his cheeks were starting to hollow, dark shadows were appearing under his eyes from lack of sleep and stress and ribs were starting to protrude. Starscream looked at him then opened his comm link to Barricade,

"**Tell Thundercracker to fetch some nourishment and fluid for this pathetic human"  
**

There was a roar of engines as Thundercracker took off. Meanwhile Mick was picked up and taken back to his work station where Soundwave was already sitting. Mick sat down next to Soundwave watching him all the time, he knew this Mech had ways of finding out the truth but didn't know what they were. They started to work together but it wasn't working for Soundwave either,

"I don't understand the human component, you do human. _WORK!_" he ordered. Mick started working harder than he ever had before, nervous at making even one small mistake. The computer whined as Mick gave it the commands but it just couldn't do what he wanted. Soundwave's hand smashed on the desk leaving a sizable dent. Mick jumped at the noise,

"Do it human"

"It won't work" Mick snapped,

"Wrong, I can do Autobot component, you do human component." Soundwave responded,

"I can't without alerting the Autobots I am trying to enter their system."

"I don't care" Soundwave said "Do it!"

Mick did what was wanted, the computer whined then came up with the required information,

"Yes!" said Mick triumphantly but then it closed down. Mick looked at the screen in disbelief, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Soundwave glared at him,

"What did you do?" Mick shrugged. "Let me try!" Soundwave said impatiently as he pushed Mick aside. He started to work over the keys but he couldn't get in and when he was making progress the connection would just break. Soundwave opened his comm link to communicate with Starscream,

"**I have tried lord Starscream but their system is too tight."**

"**Well we'll have to attack the Autobot base then won't we!"** Starscream snarled** "We will grab the femme and the weapon."** the comm link closed abruptly. Soundwave glared at Mick,

"You have failed human!"

He didn't like the sound of that. Soundwave picked him up and took him back to his cell. There was a plate of food in the cell and when Mick looked closer at it he found it to be a proper frozen meal that had been reheated, it was cold now and looked unappetizing. He wondered how they had got hold of this food and who the poor human was who suffered at their hands just for this excuse for a meal. He picked it up and threw it across his cell as he growled loudly, he was hungry and he knew he should have eaten it but he was so stressed and worried for his family that he couldn't face anything. He noticed a bottle of water in the cell, he picked it up, opened it and took a drink, grateful for the feeling of relief it offered to his dry throat. He knew that he could survive for a long time without food, but water was a totally different thing altogether. No human could survive without fluid for more than three days and he wasn't going to die at the hands of these monsters.

* * *

In Autobot headquarters Red Alert was desperately trying to stop the security breach. He called for Optimus Prime and Prowl, who charged into Red Alert's office,

"What's happening?" Prowl demanded,

"Someone is trying to hack into our system." Red growled.

"Take it to level two" Prowl replied.

Red Alert activated the back up security programme to support the one they already had, then both Prowl and Red sat down together to work out where the breach came from,

"Call me if you find out anything" Prime ordered.

"Yes sir!" Red Alert replied,

Prime left Red's office but he was concerned and called Wheeljack. Prime knew that if it was Decepticons they may be after his weapon. Any information Wheeljack had on their system regarding his new invention had to be removed and he had to put the weapon in the volt deep under the Autobot base. Wheeljack came to the ops room. Perceptor was in the ops room with Prime,

"You called?" Wheeljack inquired,

"Yes Wheeljack we have had a security breach possibly by the Decepticons. I would like you to remove any information that may be on your computer regarding the weapon. It may also be wise if you lock the weapon in the vault just in case of Decepticon attack"

"Okay I'll do that Prime, you don't think that is why Mick is working with the Decepticons do you? It is quite possible he could be trying to figure out the human element of the security programme",

"You know Prime Wheeljack could be right." suggested Perceptor.

Optimus Prime stopped, Wheeljack brought up an interesting point which would confirm his initial fears that Mick is choosing to side with the Decepticons,

"I'll bear that one in mind as the humans say." Optimus Prime said "But I don't want anything said about this to Lou she already has enough to cope with. She is still very upset with the news of her husband's work. I am going to ask Prowl and Red Alert to put the base on alert" Optimus Prime walked back to Red Alert's office,

"Have you found anything yet?" he asked the two Mechs,

"No" they replied,

"I think we had better be prepared for Decepticon attack." Prime was getting really angry with this situation and wondered if Mick knew how much trouble he was in or causing.

"I agree" Prowl replied and called every Mech for a meeting.

The sirens sounded, everybody made their way to the ops room except Red Alert who was still trying to find where the breach came from. The Autobot security system was able to pick up trails or footprints left by hackers which would lead to the origin of the hack. A thread had been found and it was definitely Decepticon, it had their signature all over it. He left his office and went to the ops room where Optimus Prime was talking,

"Autobots we have had a security breach this morning, someone tried to hack into the Autobot system. Red Alert has increased protection but we need to be prepared for Decepticon attack. We have to take more precautions which means we will have to make more frequent patrols of Autobot territory and the base will be on high alert."

"How long for?" Cliffjumper asked,

"At the moment indefinitely, we don't when they will attack if they do, that's why we must be prepared. I don't want anybody to talk about this around Lou or her children, it is looking more evident that Mick may be involved."

"Excuse me sir" Red interrupted,

"Yes Red" Prime said,

"I have traced the hack back to the Decepticons but whoever was doing it didn't know what they were doing."

"Okay! Good work Red Alert!" Prime replied, "Jazz, Prowl you know what you have to do. Clash and Bluestreak Lou and the children must not be left alone outside the base, the chances are if we are attacked they could make a grab for them and Wheeljack's weapon. Ratchet I assume you already have the med bay in order"

"Yes sir" all four Mechs replied.

"As always Prime" Ratchet said. Ratchet didn't like the idea of being caught out, everything had its own place, but what else would you expect from an organised, battle hardened medic?

"You may all leave" Prime said. A sense of urgency could be felt amongst the Mechs as they left the ops room to prepare for Decepticon attack.

**Chapter 7 is now finished.**

**Hope you enjoy it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Transformers belong to Hasbro not me except my own characters Dark Orbit, Clash, Lou, Marianne, Anna, Mick and Ebony**

**Here is chapter 8.**

**CHAPTER 8**

**READJUSTING TO A NEW WAY OF LIFE. **

The sun rose silently on the street where Lou once lived, shining its golden light on the smouldering, charred remains of Lou's house. The devastation caused to the house was baffling the fire department, they hadn't seen this type of damage in normal house fires. What was even more baffling was that Lou's house was the only one that was severely damaged, even those closest to her house were only slightly marred by the attack. They thought that there was some sort of an explosion but they didn't know what caused it. The general consensus was the investigation would bring everything to light.

The neighbours weren't entirely sure what happened either and most were grateful that their house wasn't damaged. Some of them who knew the family quite well were concerned for their safety because they hadn't been seen for a while. One neighbour had tried to contact Lou but her phone was damaged when Dark Orbit dropped her. Jennifer worried about this and worried that something had happened to them. Now that the house was completely destroyed she didn't know what to do.

Starscream had researched human relationships and discovered that humans would form friendships with their neighbours. He sent Barricade and Dark Orbit to door knock the area to try and find the whereabouts of Lou and her family; the destruction of the house gave him the perfect opportunity. So that no suspicion was aroused they used their holoforms and gave themselves human names. They told the residents that Lou and her family needed to be found so the news could be broken to them about their house. Nobody had any information!

* * *

Lou and Jodie were beginning to feel a lot happier about where they were and had put the attack behind them. It had been agreed that they could spend some time with the Lennoxes so long as they maintained their guardians. Optimus Prime wasn't happy about this because the base was still on high alert from the hack into the Autobot security system. He worried that the Decepticons would find Lou and the children and grab them. Jodie had gone oversees with her family; the Autobots knew where she'd gone and they had given her a device to contact them if there were problems. Lou was happy to hear that they could spend some time with the Lennoxes and was looking forward to going.

It was Lou's first week back at work and she's been looking forward to this for a long time. Her colleagues had been quite worried about her when they heard she was involved in an accident. Lou didn't tell people what really happened, she was convinced nobody would believe her. Marianne and Anna were back at school and Anna had resumed her ballet classes. Marianne went to the same school as Sam and Mikaela, so Bumblebee offered to take her with them and bring her back to Sam's house so Lou could pick her up in the evening. Bluestreak took Anna to school because her school was in a different direction.

One morning while Clash was driving Lou to work she was thinking about everything the Autobots had done for her,

"Clash thank you" Lou said out of the blue.

"What for?" Clash asked,

"For everything and being a friend." she replied

A smile formed across his faceplates. He considered Lou to be his friend but he wasn't sure what Lou's feelings were towards him.

"Not a problem Lou." he said

They fell silent again but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was the silence you got when two friends didn't need to say anything, they just enjoyed each others company.

"Lou on Saturday there is a place I'd like to take you to. It is a rather special place and I would like you to see it."

"Okay" she agreed.

Clash pulled into the car park of Lou's work place and parked in the same spot as he'd parked in since she went back two days ago. She got out and walked into her office. Clash watched her walk through the door safely then powered down and went into recharge but kept his scanners on. Her secretary, Naomi had been away a couple of days because one of her children were sick, she looked up when Lou walked in,

"Hi Lou how nice to see you! I was so worried about you when I heard about the accident. It is good to see you have recovered" she said as she walked over and hugged Lou,

"Thank you Naomi I am glad it is all behind me now and I can get back to living my life" Lou replied.

Ohh how she wished that was so! Naomi brought her in a coffee then they set to work. There was a lot Lou had to catch up on, her boss had shared out her load so that she could catch up on the project she was working on. She'd already made huge progress during her first two days back at work. Lou opened her laptop and started working on the next stage of the project but it wasn't long before her thoughts turned to Mick. She started wondering if he was going to call for help, "_Nah"_ she thought "_That would hurt his already injured pride_. _Stubborn mule_!" She looked out of her office window, there was Clash looking inconspicuous in her personal parking spot. Just seeing him there made Lou feel safe.

At the end of the day Lou and Naomi left the office and headed for the car park. Naomi saw Lou get into Clash,

"New car?" she smiled,

"Something like that" Lou replied,

"Nice!" Naomi said. Lou got in the car, she could hear Clash's systems coming online after his recharge,

"Did you hear that?" he said. Lou was sure he was smiling, "Your friend said I was nice. I like her!" Lou patted him on the dashboard,

"Okay I heard her Clash. Now you're beginning to sound like Sunny" she chuckled,

"What! That's an insult I'll have you know. I should make you walk." Clash pretended to be offended by her comment but she didn't buy it.

"Yeah but then you'd have to walk too Clash, because you're my guardian." Lou quickly retorted.

"You got me there. One up for Lou!" they both laughed,

"Lou, I have never heard you laugh. It is good to hear!" Clash said,

"It's been a long time since I've had something to laugh about. Thank you Clash."

They returned back to the base still laughing and joking. Mechs and humans alike came out to see what was happening. Optimus Prime smiled at the sight of Clash and Lou talking and laughing. Ratchet came and stood beside Prime a smile broke out on his faceplate,

"Prime I believe you did well giving Clash guardianship of Lou, he is helping her a lot."

"Thank you old friend." Prime replied.

* * *

After a peaceful sleep and a busy first week back at work Lou was in no particular hurry to get out of bed. As far as she was concerned it was Saturday morning and she wasn't going to rush for anybody. Or so she thought!

She could hear footsteps outside her door, then somebody knocked,

"Wakey wakey Lou! We're going out for the day." she groaned and lifted her head. Her blond curly hair flopped over her eyes hiding her view of the clock. Marianne came out,

"Good luck getting Mum up" she said with a smile. Clash looked at her,

"Go and get her because we are all going out together" Marianne glared at him; she didn't like being ordered around but did as she was told. She made a mental note to tell her mum later.

Lou grumbled as she got up and put on a pair of jeans, a plain, white shirt and tied her unruly hair back into a pony tail. Lou then put on her sneakers but wished she had her cowboy boots and cowboy hat she used to wear as a teenager growing up on her father's ranch. Lou looked at herself in the mirror and remembered the days she used to go trekking through the countryside, and the rodeo shows she used to go to with her mother and father. She promised herself she'd get back into it again. Lou nodded at herself in approval. Nature was her thing and Lou enjoyed going out into the country with her family, exploring off the beaten track and trekking on horseback. Her children had never seen her on horseback, she was going to show them one day. She stepped out of her room, Marianne looked at her,

"Wow mum, you look great!" she exclaimed. Clash smiled and nodded with approval, this was a new Lou he hadn't met yet. "_The I won't be beaten Lou_"

Once everybody was up and ready to go Clash transformed and opened his doors so that Lou and the girls could get into the car. He then took off with Jazz, Sunny, Sides and Bluestreak. It was a good drive, the sun was shining, it was warm and there were no Decepticon signatures on his scanners. He had the radio playing and enjoyed listening to the family singing along to had a bad day, _"a perfect day!" _Clash thought to himself_. _The song ended,

"Where are we going?" Lou asked.

She was beginning to feel curious. They turned off the main road onto a dirt road where the small convoy stopped. It was in thick forest, suddenly they heard another engine roaring up behind them. The mood suddenly changed as Jazz, Sunny and Sides quickly transformed and went into weapon mode. They relaxed when a bottle green jeep pulled up next to them,

"Hey Hound good to see you" Sunny said as he slapped Hound on the shoulder,

"Sorry" replied Hound "I didn't mean to alarm you, but I wasn't going to miss out on some off road driving"

"Not a problem" Jazz replied,

"Yeah" Sideswipe agreed, "The more the merrier."

"Lou look in the glove box." Lou opened the glove box to find one of her scarves,

"What's this for?" she asked, feeling a little nervous.

"I want you to put it on" Lou did so obediently. Clash could feel her nervousness,

"Relax Lou! I'm not going to harm you. You have to trust me right now." he reassured her, "Marianne and Anna when you see the surprise don't tell your mum okay?"

"We won't" they said in unison as they smiled at each other.

They continued driving up the hill through the thick forest, low branches were scratching the paint on Sunny. He was starting to grumble until Jazz told him he could always go back to the base. They came to the crest of the hill, Lou heard her children gasp. She smiled "_This is going to be good!" _she thought to herself with excited anticipation of the surprise.

She could hear the doors open. Marianne got out of the car first and took Lou's arm to guide her out of the car and away from the Mechs so they could transform. She could hear the familiar whirls and clicks of transformation and felt Clash scoop her up. He took a few steps and stopped, he shifted her around in his hand so she was facing outward,

"Okay Lou you can take off the blindfold now" Clash said.

She slowly removed it, her eyes blinked a little bit as they adjusted to light and then she gasped at the sight before her. It was beautiful, peaceful and quiet. She looked at the view in front of her, on the horizon there were mountain peaks reaching into the sky, she saw the trees in the valley below showing off their shades of green. Lou looked in the sky, it was blue with a few wispy clouds quietly drifting past and vapour trails from a plane flying off to its destination. Lou's eyes continued to take in the view before her as she looked around in another direction and saw two birds of prey gliding on the thermals, swooping and dipping looking for their victim. Just to the side of them was a large, single tree offering shade from the sun,

"Clash this is so beautiful and peaceful"

"Like it?" he asked beaming all over his face.

"I do"

They all sat there for a while just enjoying the view and the peacefulness. It was so nice as Lou breathed in the fresh air, she could feel herself relaxing and just for that brief moment all the terror and fear of the last two months was forgotten. Lou and the children had been placed on the ground and were now sitting together near the edge of the cliff with Clash and Jazz behind them, and Sunny and Sides next to them.

"Tell me about Cybertron. Can we see it from Earth?" Clash looked into the sky,

"Yes you can when it's dark."

"Can you bring me up here one night so I can see it?" Lou asked

"Yeah sure we can" he said as he put her down.

Lou had lunch with the children while the Mechs sat and chatted. Anna couldn't sit down long enough, she wanted to get up and play with the them again. Lou lay on the ground just watching the clouds go by and listening to her children playing and laughing with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Clash looked down at her, he gently played with her hair, she looked at him and smiled,

"Mick always does that to me." she said with a smile. Lou sighed and her smile disappeared, Mick was never far from her thoughts.

"Tell me about Mick" he said but Lou didn't say anything. Clash did a quick scan on her when he noticed her expression change,

"What's wrong. Have I made you angry?" he asked. She looked at him and sat up,

"What? No Clash not you. Mick has."

Lou looked at the children who were still playing with Sunny, Sides, Jazz, Hound and Blue and smiled, they looked so happy playing with the Mechs. Lou wished she didn't have to go back to the base or the Lennoxes but it was her life right now and she was grateful for them. She heard footsteps coming toward them and looked around to see who it was, Jazz knelt down next to her and smiled at her. He hadn't seen Lou so relaxed! She looked so contented he didn't really want to spoil her fun but they had to get back before the Decepticons patrolled the area. She smiled back at him,

"We'd better go" he said, "It is getting late and we need to get you guys back before we are picked up by Decepticon scouts."

"Do they patrol this area?" Lou asked,

"Yes they do constantly. They know it is Sam, Mikaela and Bee's favourite place." Jazz replied.

"Don't have to tell me twice" Lou said as she got up and waited for Clash to transform. She heard the girls whine, then they ran over to her,

"Can we travel with Sunny and Sides" they asked. Lou looked at them. Sunny and Sides stood together,

"Alright then! If it's okay with them" They looked at Sunny and Sides,

"Pleeeeeaaaaaaassssssseeeeeee!" they drawled. The twins both transformed and opened their doors to let the girls in. Sunny drove up to Lou and Clash,

"Thank you" he said to Lou. She looked at him, smiled and rubbed his bonnet,

"Not a problem Sunny"

Lou could almost see him smiling as he drove off with Anna. She had forgiven Sunny for his actions in the car park and was now beginning to trust him. She couldn't understand why he didn't help her that day because he seemd to be a friendly Mech. She became quiet and subdued when they made their way back to the base, Clash knew she enjoyed herself and hoped one day he would see her the way she was on the lookout more often. When they returned back to the base Lou got out of Clash and looked at the Mechs,

"Thank you for an awesome day" she said.

They nodded at her. Lou liked it at the lookout and would often ask Clash to take her so that she could get out of the madness she'd found herself in. Clash would take her and sit there quietly, sometimes in his alt mode, sometimes in his robot mode. They would often sit and watch the sunset and then go back when it was dark. One night they were up there Clash showed her the star that is Cybertron. Lou asked many questions about Cybertron which he answered, sometimes with great sadness. One night when they talked about Cybertron he got very sad, Lou got up and hugged him,

"I'm so sorry" she said, "Here's me with my problems, but you've had to leave your planet."

"Oh Lou" he replied sadly, "We know you've had a lot to deal with, it's our fault you're in this situation."

"No it's not! It's Mick's fault! He should have been more cautious." Lou replied venomously.

"Lou you will have to forgive him" Clash replied gently.

Lou looked down, she knew that Clash was right, and even though she was still angry with him she hoped that this would come to an end. She longed for the day when he would return to her safe, and they would be able to put their lives back together again. Clash put his hands under her chin and gently lifted her face so she was looking into his crystal optics,

"I really miss him Clash." she said quietly,

"I know you do honey"

He activated his holoform and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled into his chest feeling the safety of his strong arms, he gently rubbed her back and head, pulling the curls away from her face as she sat there soaking up the comfort he offered her.

* * *

The time had come for Lou and the children to go and spend some time with the Lennoxes, Lou had the day off so she could get organised. There had been no Decepticon activity for a while and the base had been taken off high alert. Prime thought they may be relatively safe but they still had to be with their guardians. Before they went to Sarah and Will's house Lou needed to go back to her house to collect some more clothes for them and Marianne's school books. Lou mentioned this to Clash but he couldn't take her because he was on patrol that day with Prowl. If another Mech couldn't go in Clash's place then Clash would take her, but Ironhide had offered to take Lou, just in case she had a lot of stuff.

Lou and Ironhide drove through town and down the street where she lived,

As they got closer she couldn't believe the sight that met her eyes. Ironhide could feel Lou's mood change, he run a scan on her and sure enough her stress levels had risen sky high, her heart was beating rapidly and her breathing was shallow. Her already fair skin turned ashen as she took in the sight before her. Right where her house was meant to be was a pile of hot smouldering rubble, there were police tapes around the perimeter fluttering in the breeze. She could hear Ironhide growl when he saw the sight of Lou's place of residence. He spat a line of Cybertronian curses about Decepticons and their brutal ways. He could feel Lou's pain and tried his best to comfort her as she sat in his cab and cried.

"It's all gone, everything that resembles my life and that of my children is gone, there is nothing left." she got out of the cab as a neighbour approached.

"Oh Lou I'm so sorry" she said as she hugged her,

"Do you want to come for a coffee" Lou shook her

"I've got to go" she whispered. She crawled into Ironhide's cab and looked at the neighbour who by now had walked back to her house. Lou's eyes filled with tears again, as she looked at the smouldering rubble one last time. The neighbour came running back and tapped on the window, Ironhide growled quietly.

"Two police officers were looking for you the other day." she said. "Is there a way of contacting you in case they come back, they were adamant they wanted to see you" Ironhide was immediately suspicious and let a warning rumble out through his engine, Lou patted his dashboard as a reassurance,

"No" she said, "My phone was stolen and I haven't got a new one yet."

"Oh! Well, where are you living then" Lou didn't like these questions,

"I can't tell you." she looked at the steering wheel, "Take me out of here" she whispered to Ironhide. He immediately shut the door and drove off, leaving the puzzled woman standing on the pavement.

"When is this all going to end?" she cried.

Ironhide hugged her as best he could, he gently pulled the seatbelt in tighter; she felt the movement and gently rubbed it as a way of saying thank you; his engine purred a bit louder.

"Lou I think it is best you come back to the base with me, I will radio ahead to Prime to let them now we are coming,

"**Ironhide to Prime"**

"**Go ahead Ironhide"**

"**Lou's house has been destroyed, possibly by Decepticons I'm bringing her back to the base"**

"**Good idea Ironhide I will contact Bluestreak and Bumblebee and tell them to be on the alert just in case of Decepticon activity. They can pick up the girls after school and bring them back to base, it's best not to alarm them if there is no need."**

The journey back to base was quiet and the atmosphere in the cab was sombre. Ironhide had learnt from Will that there was a time to speak and a time to be quiet, he decided that this was one of those times to be quiet. Lou just sat there watching the scenery go by wishing that time would go back to that fateful night when Mick was sending his application.

"Damn him" she hissed with rage between gritted teeth "Damn, damn, damn him. I don't care if I never see him again!" she stamped her foot heavily on the floor of Ironhide's cab,

"Lou, stop that!" Ironhide barked. No way was he going to be on the receiving end of her rage,

"Sorry Ironhide" she said.

He knew she hadn't knowingly brought attention to herself, but she had become the centre of the Decepticon's attention and he wondered what her husband had got involved in for this to happen. Sunny was at the entrance, he saw them arrive and the thunderous look on Ironhide's face showed that things hadn't gone well. Lou looked like it was the end of the world.

"Lou what's happened?" he asked as he saw her coming in with Ironhide. Ironhide glared at him.

" Her house is destroyed. Burnt to the ground. Nothing left" Ironhide sneered.

"Decepticons?" he asked but didn't wait for Ironhide's reply, "Wait till I get my hands on those Deceptiscum; I will pound them for doing this to you and when I've finished with them I will teach that husband of yours………."

"Sunny that's _enough_!" Ironhide bellowed. "You'll have to excuse Sunny, he forgets himself sometimes and gets a little excited" Ironhide growled as he scooped up Lou.

"Sorry Lou I didn't mean to….."

"N-no Su-Sun-n-ny" Lou sobbed. "It-s not your fault",

"Lou I have to give a report to Prime about this. Clash is on duty so I will take you to the Med bay."

"I'll look after her" Sunny said.

Sunny took her to the rec room where they sat and watched a movie. He held her in his hand and comforted her. She slowly drifted off to sleep still sobbing, exhausted from the trauma and heartbreak of seeing her house destroyed.

* * *

At the end of the school day Bluestreak drove into the school, activated his holoform and waited for Anna on a bench between the school building and the car park. Bluestreak found this an interesting part of Earth culture, not unlike Cybertron when the younglings had to go to a place of learning. He was reflecting on his life on Cybertron when he heard a squeal of delight and saw Anna running towards him.

"Uncle Blue" she cried. She run towards him and jumped into his arms.

"Hello little one, you're coming with me back to the base"

"yippee! Are Sunny and Sides there?"

"Yes they are and they are waiting to help you with your homework"

"Double yippee, well not for the homework part" Bluestreak laughed as he put Anna in the back of the car and did up her seatbelt.

Bumblebee had sent a text to Sam and Mikaela so that they could let Marianne know she was going back to the base. Sam and Mikaela got in the car but Marianne wasn't with them.

"Where's Marianne?" Bee asked.

"Don't know, we told her to meet us here." Sam and Mikaela looked around for her but couldn't see her, they started to get a bit concerned as Bee scanned the area, he couldn't detect any Decepticons nor could he detect Marianne. He was just about to radio Prime when Sam and Mikaela saw her.

"What happened to you?" They were relieved that Marianne turned up and was safe.

"I was thinking of not going to the base, I've had enough of this." she snapped, "It's not fair! Why can't my life be normal?" she whined.

Bee felt really sorry for the teenager but she had no idea of the sort of danger she could be in. Two months ago she was living a normal life but now that's all been taken from her. She has done really well and adapted to the Autobots very quickly, she's bound to get frustrated with all this at some stage and now she was going to have to cope with the news about her house.

"Marianne I'm so sorry about this" came Bumblebee's reply.

Marianne ignored Bee's apology, Mikaela didn't miss this and gently rubbed the dashboard. Bee revved in appreciation,

"How do you guys cope with this?" Sam and Mikaela looked at her.

"It is hard sometimes, we've learnt to live with them and Bee here is really good, all the Autobots understand how this has impacted our lives. Jazz has helped as well with his research on Earth culture, it has helped the Autobots understand us." Sam said

"Marianne we are trying to protect you, we don't want you to get hurt at the hand of the Decepticons." Bee added,

"Hey Marianne why don't I ask mum if you can spend the weekend with us?" said Sam.

"Really? Would you do that, like I wouldn't cramp your style or anything, would I?" Marianne asked with a smile.

"What? No" reassured Sam "Mum would love having you around"

"Yeah" Mikaela pitched in "We could hang around, maybe go for a coffee and do some shopping. It would be fun having a girl around, Sam usually invites Miles and all they do is play games on the X Box" Bee thought this a good idea.

"You'd better check with your Mum and Prime first"

"Always do Bee" came Marianne's reply with a smile. "But I know Mum will agree; she was only saying the other day, it would be good for me to spend some time with other teenagers"

Jazz was waiting for them at the entrance to the base when they arrived,

"Hi Marianne" Jazz greeted them with his ever happy smile. "Hi Sam and Mikaela ."

"Hi Jazz" they all chimed together and then burst out laughing.

Jazz smiled, he loved seeing the children happy, and he loved having playing with them but now was not the time. He became serious as he looked at Marianne, Sam and Mikaela picked up Jazz's sudden mood change.

"Your mum wants to see you in my office" he said, Marianne was sure she picked up a hint of concern in his voice.

"Why? What have I done?" she was worried and the expression showed on her face, Jazz got down to her level and put his hand around her back and drew her toward him,

"Nothing, she needs to talk to you it's very important"

Jazz picked her up, Mikaela watched them leave together than ran after them, she called Marianne. Jazz stopped and bent down so that Mikaela could talk to Marianne,

"Marianne no matter what has happened you can talk to Sam, me and even Bee. We know what it is like living under Decepticon threat ok?"

Marianne nodded, she was very anxious about what had caused her mum to need to talk to her with such urgency. Jazz took her into his office, everything was tall except for a human sized sofa which Anna and her Mum were sitting on. It was brought in from the rec room and tucked in a corner. Marianne couldn't see the contents of the desk but she did notice the huge speakers on the wall and thought about the awesome noise they'd make, she made a mental note to ask Jazz what type of music he listened to. Jazz shut the door behind him. It shut with a loud whoosh and then it started. Lou breathed in a deep breath and let it out again. Marianne caught the look in her eye.

"Mum? What is it? you look terrible!"

"I went to our house today to collect some more of our belongings. When I got there I…" she paused not really knowing what to say, tears forming in her eyes again. "Honey the house has gone, it was burnt-there is nothing left" Marianne and Anna burst into floods of tears.

"Why is this happening mum? It's because of Dad isn't it? he caused this didn't he?" Marianne screamed through her tears.

"Don't be so hard on him Marianne, it may have just been an accident he may not have been able to stop it." Lou pleaded.

"I really hate him for this. Look what he's done, why did he have to go for that job? Why doesn't he think?" she screamed. Before Lou could reassure her and calm her she burst out of Jazz's office and ran down the corridor. She heard Anna crying and call out for her, but she just kept running past the rec room and out of the base. Sam and Mikaela were in the rec room, they heard her as she ran past. Mikaela went running after her

"Marianne" she called.

Mikaela caught up with Marianne who was sitting on a rock outside the base crying inconsolably. She sat next to Marianne and hugged her, Marianne wrapped her arms around Mikaela as she carried on crying. Bumblebee and Sam came out too, Bumblebee sat on the other side of Marianne and gently stroked her back as she cried.

Later that evening Clash went to see Lou who was back in their quarters for the night. Prime told her it was best they stayed there for a while just in case the Decepticons came for them. Anna was laying on her bed sobbing but asleep. The lamp was on which gave the room a very soft, mellow light and Lou had put on some gentle music for Anna. Lou was just sitting in a chair, looking beaten, her forehead resting on her fingers. Clash got down to her level, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" he asked, concern in his deep voice. Lou looked at him and smiled weakly. She nodded.

"I'll be alright Clash, give me time. I don't know where Marianne is though" Clash looked at her, he knew she wasn't alright. He could see it, she had taken everything in her stride, she's strong and stubborn but right now she needed to know that it is okay to need help.

"Lou listen to me." he said firmly, "Right now you're not alright, I can see it in your face and hear it in your voice. Lou I'm going to speak to Ratchet and see if he can give you something."

"No Clash I don't need Ratchet to give me something. I….I need to get myself together, I need a break from all this. I need to know everything is going to be okay, I need someone to tell me it will be okay. Clash I can't do this anymore…help me! please?" she whimpered as tears were released and rolled down her face. Her whole world had been torn apart! everything she knew had gone! Clash bent down and picked her up, he held her close as she sobbed into his chest.

"Don't worry about Marianne she's outside with Mikaela and Bumblebee. Lou everything will be okay, we will help you through this. We know how tough this is for you-_frag it_ Lou we've been fighting the Decepticons for millions of years. You don't have to be alone, I will help you. I think it's best if you had company tonight, I can stay with you until the morning. Don't be alone right now-I will recharge on the floor." Lou looked down, there was enough room for him to lay on the floor and she would be grateful of some company, she nodded her consent. He looked at Anna

"How's Anna?" he asked

" Thanks Clash. She'll be okay, she'll bounce back. She always does!" Clash walked to Anna, kneeled on the floor and gently stroked her face, Anna lightly stirred but didn't awaken. It marvelled Lou that a being so big could be so gentle. Lou sat back on the chair, grateful that the next day was a Saturday. Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. It was Marianne with Bumblebee and Mikaela. Clash answered the door, Marianne walked in with her friends, her face still blotchy from all the crying.

"Hi Mrs. Ferrier, my name is Mikaela"

"Hi Mikaela it is nice to finally meet you. Thank you for looking after Marianne out there, and thank you too Bumblebee"

"Mrs Ferrier would it be okay for Marianne to spend some time with Sam and myself on the weekend. Bumblebee could pick her up tomorrow and he would be with her all weekend because he is our guardian. We have asked Sam's mum and she is happy for Marianne to stay."

Lou looked at Marianne "_It would give her a break_" she thought but then remembered they were supposed to be going to the Lennoxes,

"We're supposed to be going to…." Clash shook his head,

"Prime thinks your safer with us at the moment"

"Yeah that would be fine, I'll check with Optimus Prime first" said Lou.

Bumblebee opened his comm link to Prime and asked him. Optimus Prime didn't want Marianne to go until Bumblebee pointed out that she would probably benefit from being away from the base for a while and she'd be with them. Optimus Prime then consented unwillingly. Bumblebee told them that Optimus Prime said she could go, Marianne looked at her Mum and pleaded. Lou smiled and nodded, Marianne went up to her Mum and hugged her,

"I love you Mum" she said,

"I love you too Marianne" Lou replied.

Sam and Mikaela decided to stay with the Autobots for the night so that they could all travel to Sam's together in the morning, Lou and Marianne settled down for the night. Clash propped himself up against the wall until his charge and her family were asleep, he then lay down and went into recharge himself.

* * *

All was quiet in the base that night. Hound and Mirage sat in front of the monitors not really saying much, Hound didn't mind being on duty with Mirage despite his arrogance and pompous snobbish attitude. So what if he lived in the elite area of Cybertron; everybody was on the same level here on Earth. They kept seeing a little shadow wandering along the corridors, but the security systems were not picking up any Decepticon signals.

"What do you think it is?" Hound asked, he was perplexed.

"I don't know, I will go and investigate" Mirage got up and left the monitor room.

"It could be one of the younglings Mirage, so be civil" Hound called out, Mirage glared at him, "_I shall punch him one day_" he thought with a smirk.

Mirage got up and activated his cloaking device, he wandered quietly through the corridors as Hound gave him the areas the shadow was in. He found the shadow, it was Anna! She was in her pyjamas and very sleepy. _"She must have needed the bathroom and got lost" _he thought as he knelt down and deactivated his cloaking device.

"Hey little one what are you doing wandering around the corridors this time of night?"

"I want my Mummy!" said her little sleepy voice. He offered his hand, Anna walked on.

"I'll take you to your mummy"

He got to the door of their quarters and knocked but there was no answer. Being the gentleman he was he didn't want to walk in, but this time he had no choice. He quietly opened the door. He saw Marianne lying next to Lou with her hand wrapped tightly around her mum's shoulders and Clash on the floor recharging. He put his hand down, Anna slid off and into bed on the other side of Lou where she snuggled in. He smiled and quietly left to go back to the monitor room. He kind of liked this family and it pleased him to see Clash taking his role of guardianship seriously and hoped one day he'd get to be a guardian too.

"Everything alright?" Hound asked.

"Yeah" Mirage said. "It was the younger sibling wandering around. I took her back to her family unit."

"Why was she wandering around, didn't her mother know?" Mirage shrugged. Nothing else was said.

Next morning Marianne was up early and ready to go. She was really excited about the weekend and having time out from everything, well as much as you can with a huge robot hanging around. Bumblebee arrived with Sam and Mikaela.

"Hi" Marianne Said.

"Hi" they both replied back.

They took Marianne back to Sam's house so she could dump what few bits she had. The room she was staying in was nice. It was comfortable, light and airey with all the necessary furniture. The window was open and a curtain was gently billowing in the breeze, there were two single beds with plain white sheets and a pale green quilt cover. Judy Witwicky had made Marianne feel instantly at home. It wasn't like they hadn't met before because they had on that first morning Marianne was taken to Sam's, so she could go to school with Mikaela and Sam. But it was usually a quick hello as Judy was always on her way out to work. Marianne had never met Ron before so when she was introduced she took an instant liking to him. Mikaela and Marianne were sleeping in the same room, a girls sleepover as Mikaela had put it.

"What would you like to do first." Mikaela asked.

"Well mum gave me some money and told me I could use it to go shopping and pick up some more clothes cuz I lost a lot in the house fire."

That is how they referred to the damage caused to the house, it was easier to explain that way. It was an accident caused by fire, the fire brigade couldn't fight it becuase it was just too intense and well under way before they got there. The Autobots thought that was a good idea considering there was no proof the Decepticons did do it, although it was more than likely.

Mikaela and Marianne spent the day shopping for clothes for the summer holiday which was approaching very quickly. Sam spent some time with Miles, he decided it would be good for the girls to have time together. Besides going shopping with girls was not on his list of fun things to do. Marianne brought some new clothes for herself, she brought some clothes and pretty things for Anna too. Mikaela and Marianne went to an ice cream parlour, they brought a sundae, sat at a table and chatted for a long time about things. Bumblebee had gone with the girls and was parked in the car park, every now and then he did a scan, all was quiet.

That evening Sam and Mikaela invited friends around for pizzas and dvd. Marianne was really enjoying herself and the company she was in. Nothing was mentioned about Autobots or Decepticons, she felt like her life was normal and that was how she liked it! Mikaela and Marianne said goodnight to Sam's parents after their friends had gone home, then went up to their room. Marianne was having a good time, for the first time in months she felt like a normal teenager, but was also happy to meet Sam and Mikaela. She really enjoyed their friendship at a time when her life had dramatically changed.

Meanwhile back at the base Lou had stepped outside for a quiet moment. She didn't mind being at the base, although she preferred to be in the comfort of her own home, that wasn't possible anymore. She heard footsteps coming behind her, big footsteps! Lou looked around, it was Prime!

"May I join you?" he asked.

Lou smiled at him and patted the rock next to her. Optimus opted to sit on the ground, the space on the rock was a bit small. The sun was setting making its usual colourful show in the evening sky, the first stars of the night appeared with the full moon giving off a gentle light. A gentle breeze blew, Lou's hair was swept back as the breeze blew onto her face. It felt refreshing, she closed her eyes taking in the peacefulness of the evening. The breeze was a welcome relief from the desert's unrelenting heat during the day. Finally Optimus spoke,

"Lou I want you to know we are doing all we can to keep you and the children safe." she looked at Optimus, then looked away.

"It was the Decepticons that destroyed my house wasn't it?" she asked with a quiver in her voice, then looked at him,

"Yes!" Lou looked down, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear that or not. She looked at Optimus.

"Why?"

"We don't know, the Decepticons haven't contacted us." she looked at Optimus.

"Will this ever end, I mean it is so hard I feel like I'm in prison..." she stopped when she realised what she'd said, she looked at Prime; he gave her an encouraging nod to carry on, "Oh! Optimus Prime I'm sorry, now I must sound ungrateful to you when you have kept us safe. I mean we can't go anywhere or go about our daily lives without the fear of attack and now we don't have a home to go to. I feel like a refugee in a war zone." Optimus couldn't help but hear the truth in those words. After all they were refugees in a war which didn't belong on Earth.

"I wish I could make it change for you Lou" she shook her head. She could hear the guilt in his voice. She put her hand on his and looked up at him.

"It's not your fault, nor is it Mick's he just blundered into this. I need to find a way to get through this. I have to stay strong for the children... with their father not around I am all they have at the moment." Optimus really appreciated Lou's words and actions, he smiled at her and held out his hands. Lou was starting to shiver as the temperature dropped, she accepted the ride back into the base.

"Lou if you ever want to talk, my office door is always open, just come and talk to me." she simply nodded her head and smiled at him,

"Thank you" she replied.

**Well that was chapter 8.**

**It was a bit long but there was so much I wanted to put in!**

**Hope you enjoy it!**


	9. Chapter 9

Illusion is my first story and I am looking for a beta reader so if anybody out there can help, I would appreciate it!

Sadly Transformers are not mine. Only Clash, Dark Orbit, Lou, Mick, Marianne, Anna and Ebony.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Barbeques and bugles**

It was the end of another busy day for Sarah. Will and Ironhide had been home for a while and Will was now helping Sarah tidy up while Annabelle went and said goodnight to Ironhide. Sarah had been thinking about having a barbeque over the weekend and inviting everybody. She mentioned it to Will while Annabelle was saying good night to Ironhide

"You know what?" she said "I think it would be really nice to have a bbq. We could invite Lou and her family, Sam and Mikaela and Sam's family and the Autobots."

"That's a good idea honey but when?" Will asked,

"What about next weekend after all it is when the summer holidays start."

"Good idea! Okay we'll do it then!" Will agreed,

Sarah smiled happily at her husband as she went into the yard to take Annabelle from Ironhide to put her to bed. She watched them for a while, smiling as Ironhide hugged her goodnight then carried her to Sarah. She held out her arms and took Annabelle from Ironhide and smiled warmly at him,

"Blow Ironhide kisses" Sarah said.

Annabelle smiled at him as she put her hand to her mouth, kissed it and blew it in Ironhide's direction, Ironhide did the same back and ruffled her blond, curly hair. It had taken a while for Sarah to get used to having Ironhide around but she was used to him now, and knew he wouldn't harm Annabelle or put her in harms way. She affectionately stroked his leg and then walked back to the house with Annabelle. Ironhide watched them go before he sat in his usual spot to guard the family.

* * *

The night before the Barbeque Ratchet was sitting quietly in his office. It was quiet and he had the opportunity to sit and catch his thoughts, something he hadn't been able to do for a long time. When he was doing his training he was told to value times like this, but since the war these times were few and far between. When he did get them he really appreciated them. The doors to the Med bay opened,

"Whoever you are, you'd better have good reason for being here!" he said sourly

"Ratchet, old friend! It's Prime" Optimus replied warmly.

Ratchet looked at Prime wondering why he was in the Med bay because he had checked his systems only yesterday and they were all functional,

"Prime! What can I do for you?"

Optimus Prime noticed how weary Ratchet was looking. He was sitting at his desk with his shoulders slumped and his head resting on his hand. Optimus saw how dull his optics looked as he walked over to the neon green medic. Ratchet watched Optimus Prime as he approached his desk, Ratchet slowly lifted his head off his hands and sat up

"How are you doing old friend, you look weary? When did you last recharge?" Prime asked, his voice full of compassion for the medic.

Ratchet never really complained unless mechs would push him too far, then he would certainly let them know they had stepped over the mark. Prime knew how much Ratchet missed Cybertron; and out of all the mechs Ratchet was the one that supported them the most through their grief over the loss of their homeworld, never really asking anybody for anything in return. Ratchet shrugged, in all honesty he couldn't remember when he last had a deep recharge, a good overload and some fun. Sure he had been recharging but they were only light recharges, Optimus Prime released air through his vents and put a hand on Ratchet's shoulder as he looked around. The Med bay was tidy and well organised which he expected but it was also quiet,

"Look at the Med bay Ratchet, it's empty. I want you go to your quarters and have a good recharge. If anything happens we'll call First Aid."

"But...!" Ratchet started to argue.

"No buts Ratchet, you have a right to recharge and tomorrow you will come to the barbeque. My. Orders!"

"Yes sir" Ratchet replied as he stood up.

Ratchet quietly left the Med bay. He knew that Prime was right, it was quiet and there wasn't really much happening. The twins saw him trudging down the corridor, they looked behind them, then at each other and smiled,

"Don't even think about it?" he quipped.

They looked at each other and then at him, then raised their hands in a "who me?" gesture. Ratchet looked at them, snorted as he shook his cpu and went into his quarters. The door shut firmly behind him shutting out the light and noise from the base. It was quiet! peaceful! The neon green medic leaned against the wall and shut his optics for a minute as he enjoyed the peacefulness. He put on a light; as it flicked on Ratchet saw everything was how he left it,orderly and tidy. He looked around there was his berth inviting him to lay down and recharge, he flopped on it and closed down his systems, the last thing going through his cpu was his realisation of how tired he was,

"Thanks Prime" Ratchet muttered as he went into recharge.

* * *

Lou loves a barbeque. She had been looking forward to this ever since she received the invitation and she was planning on enjoying herself despite Mick not being there. It was a beautiful hot day with a gentle breeze, just perfect for a barbeque. Will and Sarah were busy setting everything up before their guests arrived and Annabelle was finishing off her morning snooze. The guests soon arrived and greeted each other. Clash, Bluestreak and Red ALert couldn't go, they had to stay behind to guard the base. Ron and Judy came over to Lou,

"Oh Lou how nice to meet you at last!" Judy said as she hugged Lou, "It was such a pleasure to have Marianne around last week, you know it would be really nice to have you and your family around for a meal, maybe once everything has settled down."

"Thank you. We'll look forward to that" Lou replied.

After all the introductions and the food was ready everybody filled their plates and sat down to eat. The Autobots enjoyed the high grade Wheeljack and Perceptor had brought with them. Anna sat with Sarah who was feeding Annabelle, Sarah let Anna help her feed Annabelle. Lou spent the afternoon talking and getting to know everybody and she laughed and played games with Anna and Annabelle. Ratchet sat and watched this with a smile on his face. Prime sat with him,

"Good to see isn't it! I love watching the humans socialise" Ratchet nodded.

Mikaela had brought some water bombs, she showed them to Marianne and smiled. The two girls slipped away quietly to find an outside tap where they could fill up their missiles and then find a place to throw them. Maggie saw them and followed them,

"What are you two doing?" she smiled, they both looked at her,

"SShh!" they replied with their fingers on their lips,

"Oohh this looks fun! Can I join in?" she asked. Marianne and Mikaela both smiled at her and nodded,

"The more the merrier!" Marianne replied.

The three girls carried on quietly filling up the water balloons, trying really hard to stifle their giggles. They quietly circled the group, hiding behind corners of the house making sure they couldn't be seen. Mikaela made the first throw at Sam, he was talking with Lou and his mum when a water balloon hit him on the back,

Splatt!

Sam screamed in fright at the cold water hitting his warm skin and turned around, Lou and Judy sat there in stunned silence then burst out laughing at his misfortune. Jazz's visor came down when he heard Sam scream but wasn't expecting the water balloon which hit him squarely on his helm. He looked around and couldn't see Maggie, Marianne or Mikaela, but he did see another water bomb fly threw the air and hit Glenn, who also screamed. More water bombs came flying out from various directions at the defenseless Mechs and guests. Bumblebbe and Jazz decided it was time to find the culprits. When the girls saw them moving they decided to change their positions. Marianne found herself in a position where she could see Sideswipe. She couldn't believe her luck, his back was turned to her. She smiled as she picked up her water balloon and raised it above her head. It was a perfect shot but she didn't see the silent saboteur creeping up behind her. She was about to throw her balloon when a hand grabbed her by the wrist,

"Gotcha!" whispered a deep voice.

Marianne screamed a high pitched, blood curdling scream causing Sideswipe to look around in alarm, the whole party went quiet. He saw Marianne with her arm above her head with the offending, bright yellow missile aimed at him. Her wrist was being held firmly by Jazz who was grinning from ear to ear as he worked out a suitable punishment for her,

"Hey Sides this one was meant for you. What would you like me to do with her?" Sides smiled and turned around,

"It's alright everybody carry on having fun. Jazz and I have something we need to deal with." He then got up and walked towards Marianne, "_Oh no!" _she thought. He looked in her bucket, all of a sudden another scream was heard, this time it was from Mikaela who was caught by Sam and Bee. Marianne had loads of water bombs left he opened his comm link,

"**I say we get the water bombs and we throw them at her while she runs away. What do you think Jazz**?"

"**Good idea Sides! Bee I believe you caught Mikaela. Do you agree?"**

**"Yes I do!"** Bee replied. Jazz put Marianne's arm down as Bee stood Mikaela next to Marianne,

"You two have to the count of three to get as far away from us as you possibly can before we throw the rest of these water bombs at you. One, Two....Three!"

The girls run as fast as they could out from their hiding places, screaming. Prowl couldn't believe what he was seeing, Ratchet smirked and the adults started to laugh at the girls as they run through the party trying to avoid the water bombs being thrown at them by Bumblebee, Jazz and Sideswipe. Optimus Prime roared with laughter when he saw his mechs getting their own back at the poor girls. Seeing the gig was up Maggie quietly crept back to her spot next to Glenn. He smirked at her and nodded, "_I know it was you!"_ She raised her hands in the air,

"What?" she said to him and laughed at the drenched girls.

"I haven't seen everybody enjoy themselves like this since the party. Life gets too serious!" Mirage said to Wheeljack,

"Yeah Mirage I agree" the scientist replied, fascinated with the way humans relaxed and socialised. "We should take a leaf from the humans book and spend more time relaxing."

"I wish it was as easy as that!" Prime solemnly replied.

Anna had found a bugle which she blew at Annabelle, Annabelle squealed with delight at the loud noise. Ironhide cringed when he heard the noise, he hated that toy and the noise it made. Marianne heard the noise and an idea came into her head; Lou knew that smile, "_what is she up to now?_" she mused to herself. Marianne had heard from other mechs about how serious payback had to be given to two certain twins but nobody could really think of anything. "_Oh yeah!_" she thought "_This will be awesome!_" the smile didn't go unnoticed. Two other mechs were watching as well. Ratchet put his cpu in his hand. "_What pandemonium will erupt now_?" he huffed, blowing air out of his valves. The thought of Marianne, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker teaming up together went through Jazz's head, he smiled and shook his cpu.

Mirage suddenly took off towards the woods which bordered the Lennoxe's land and disappeared as he activated his cloaking mechanism. He had caught a shadow moving around out there amongst the trees and he picked up a Decepticon signal. Jazz had as well, he brought his visor down and caught the shape of a mech who looked familiar to him,

"Dark Orbit!" he growled

"**I'm ready if you need me Mirage!" **he commed to his friend. Mirage acknowledged it.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe watched as Mirage disappeared ready to move quickly if needed. Ebony's fur stood on end and she quickly stood up and looked towards the woods. Lou had seen what was going on, she didn't want Ebony to suddenly start barking in case she alerted whatever or whoever was out there of Mirage's presence. She sat where she was soothing the dog and keeping a watchful eye on the children. The rest of the Autobots formed a circle around the humans to protect them from any potential harm, ready to move if they had to. Will suggested everybody went into the house for a while until the Autobots felt it was safe for them to be outside. Optimus Prime suggested Will and Epps stay in there too because they weren't sure what was out there. Will didn't want to but went into the house anyway, he knew there was nothing much he could do with just him and Epps

Mirage did a wide berth and crept up behind the decepticon who was unaware of Mirage's presence. Once Mirage became invisible his signature would disappear too. He got hold of the mech by his neck and pointed his cannon at the mech's spark chamber.

"What are you doing here, you poor excuse of a glitch? You are not welcome! Get your sorry aft away from here before I alert the others" he hissed.

Dark Orbit swore when he felt Mirage grab him and continued stringing a line of cybertronian curses when he realised his carelessness in not hiding his Decepticon signal.

"You know you can't watch that human femme and her two youglings all the time. We. Will. Get. Them!" he threatened.

"Dream on you deceptiglitch, now MOVE!" he stabbed his cannon even harder into Dark Orbit's spark chamber.

"Alright, alright I'm leaving but be prepared!" he growled. Mirage released him and watched him leave then he went back to the party. The blue and white mech walked up to Optimus Prime and spoke to him through his private link so as not to alarm the humans,

"**It was Dark Orbit, he was spying on us! He's warned us to be ready! It sounds like they are going to make a move on Lou and the girls."** he said to everybody,

"**Has he gone?"** Prowl asked, looking out toward the wood,

"**I saw him leave but I don't know if he's still hanging around. We all know how good he is at hiding his signature" **Mirage replied,

"**We will step up protection for them. Jazz and Prowl I want you two to escort Lou and the girls back to base, Sunstreaker you take Lou and Anna, Jazz you take Marianne. Try to keep them calm, Bumblebee you just need to take Sam and his parents with Mikaela.**" Prime answered.

Will picked up the change in mood in the Autobots. He casually walked up to Ironhide.

"Alright there big guy?"

"I'll explain to you later" was Ironhide's quick reply.

He didn't want to alarm the humans and have them panicking, they were having a good time.

It was getting late and Anna was getting tired. Marianne wanted to go home with Bee, Sam and Mikaela but Prime told her she had to go with Sunstreaker. She thought about arguing her point but Mikaela looked at her and shook her head. They obviously had their reasons and it wasn't something they were prepared to talk about. Marianne waited for Sunstreker to transform than sat in him,

"Okay Marianne?" Sunny asked,

"I wanted to go with Sam, Mikaela and Bee" Marianne replied,

"Not this time honey. You need to ride with me"

"Why?"

"Optimus Prime's orders!" Sunstreaker replied,

"Yeah but why?"

She wasn't going to stop until she had an answer but Sunny wasn't going to giver her one,

"You don't need to know. Just do what we say!" Sunstreaker replied firmly She huffed as she sat back in the seat and sulked,

* * *

When they arrived back at the base, Marianne went straight to Wheeljack's lab. She called him through the intercom on his door, hoping he had got back already. She knew that she wasn't allowed in unless Wheeljack said she could come in. He opened the door,

"Hello Marianne what brings you here?"

Wheeljack was surprised to see her, she didn't normally have much to do with him unless she wanted some help with a science project.

"Hi Wheeljack could you make me two bugles please?"

He laughed at the strange request and asked why.

"You'll see!" she smiled.

She walked out of the room grinning from ear to ear. She was so focused on her plan that she didn't see Jazz and walked into him. He noticed her grinning,

"Hello there li'l lady what's cookin in yer head?"

She wasn't going to tell him, but then it occurred to her she needed to know Sunny and Sides code to their quarters. She explained to him her plan, he got down to her level and offered his hand. She stepped in still talking to him,

"Say no more!" he said sharply.

Her face dropped, she thought she was in trouble. He took her to his quarters and placed her on his desk. Marianne looked around his quarters, she couldn't help but notice how neat everything was, then her eyes feel upon a picture on the wall. It was a picture of himself with Prowl and Firestar.

"That's a nice picture" she said. "Where was it taken?"

"In Iacon" he replied.

"Iacon! Is that your home?" Marianne asked,

"Yes. Iacon is a city on Cybertron where the Autobots used to live it was destroyed by the war. I was one of the first to leave with Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Ironhide to find the Allspark. Prowl is my best friend and this is Firestar who I was also friends with, actually we were almost like brother and sister. "

"Oh! Where is she now?"

Jazz sat down, a look of sadness crossed his face, Marianne wanted to get down and hug him but his berth was too high.

"I don't know!" he sadly replied "We lost contact when I came to earth, I don't even know if she's alive. This war……" he stopped.

Marianne decided not to push him any further, she could see the pain in his eyes. He looked up and smiled.

"Tell me your plan" he said. Marianne grinned slyly as she told him everything. Jazz chuckled,

"Well I'll be!" he purred "I believe this could work! Sunstreaker and Sideswipe tricked by a Human! I'm in!" he smiled.

"Yeah!" said Marianne and put up her hand for a high five.

Jazz knew what that meant and returned the gesture. As Marianne left Jazz's quarters he got straight on the internet to find out what a bugle was and to find out what sound it made. He started practising the sound using his sound bytes and his radio. Ratchet was walking past when he heard strange noises coming out of Jazz's quarters. He stopped and knocked on the door, the noises stopped. Jazz opened the door,

"Ratch! How are you man?"

"The name is Ratchet not Ratch and definitely not man!" said the grumpy medic, "Now perhaps you'd like to tell me what you were doing" Jazz told him Marianne's plan, a smile crossed his face; this he had to be part of! He owed those twins for a lot of pranks, and this was so much better than welding their afts to a ceiling.

"We just need to wait until Wheeljack has made Marianne the bugles"

"Well let me know and I will join you." Jazz nearly fell to the ground, "_Ol Hatchet joining in on a prank_" he thought with a smile. He was really going to enjoy this!

Later that evening Wheeljack gave Marianne the bugles. She thanked him then went to find Jazz. He was in the rec room with Mirage and Clash enjoying a cube of energon. Clash saw her and smiled at her, Jazz followed his gaze and smiled,

"Ready babe?" he asked,

"Ready!" she said. Jazz radioed Ratchet.

"**Ready tomorrow at 7.00 am." **Clash looked at Jazz puzzled, Jazz just winked at him,

"You'll find out tomorrow!" he said with a grin. Clash's curiosity was now aroused, if Jazz was involved then it would have to be good!

The next morning at 7.00 am sharp Marianne, Anna, Ratchet and Jazz stood outside Sunny and Sides room. Jazz silently punched the code, Anna was placed on Ratchet's shoulder in case she got hurt.

"Ready?" Marianne who was perched on Jazz's shoulder whispered she looked at the two Mechs with a glint in her eye. The grumpy Medic saw it and smiled,

"After three. One two three!"

The two girls blew their bugles and Ratchet and Jazz made bugle noises with their sound bytes as they burst into the twins' quarters, the noise was deafening! The startled twins jumped up from their berths and screamed. They ran around their quarters in confusion before they saw all four of them standing there laughing until there sides were almost splitting. Anna nearly fell off of Ratchet's shoulders, he quickly grabbed her and placed her back on his shoulder. Sunny and Sides started running towards them stringing a line of Cybertronian curses. The two Mechs turned and run, placing the girls in their hands still laughing. Ratchet couldn't remember when he had so much fun.

Prowl and Optimus were in the corridor talking about the possibility of a decepticon attack and the best course of action to take for the family. The next thing Prowl knew he was being grabbed by Optimus and moved out of the way as a blur of neon green and grey and the sound of children laughing rushed past quickly, followed by a blur of yellow and red yelling curses in Cybertronian and English. Prowl and Prime looked at each other surprised at what they saw and heard, Optimus Prime burst out laughing.

"It's about time someone got those twins back!" Prowl said with a smirk,

He wanted to congratulate the person who instigated this. Optimus Prime nodded as he laughed. What was even more amusing was that Ratchet was involved, normally he was on the receiving end. Other mechs opened their doors to see what the commotion was; they also burst out laughing. The rec room was buzzing by the time mid morning came, there was no-one who hadn't heard about what happened to Sunny and Sides, and it was created by a teenage girl,

"Sweet! Very sweet!" they agreed

* * *

Meanwhile back at Decepticon headquarters Dark Orbit had a meeting with Starscream about the results of his assignment.

"Starscream I saw the female of the family unit and the two younglings with the Autobots at the soldier's residence." he said.

"Are they there now?" Starscream asked.

"No I believe not sir. I was chased away by Mirage, he nearly ripped apart my spark casing but I went back later and managed to see them leave with the Autobots"

"Where did they go?" Starscream snapped.

"Back to base I believe sir"

"Mmm" Starscream hummed thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "The female may know about the weapon, we can get her and make her tell us about it. The female can be punished in front of the male for his lack of effort. Gather the Decepticons together let's get a plan because the female will be heavily watched."

"Yes lord Starscream" Dark Orbit turned to go

"We will attack the base and get them. I want them and I want that weapon!" Starscream ordered,

"Yes sir" Dark Orbit replied.

The next morning Starscream was up early, he was going to patrol the Decepticon controlled territory. He went to the rec room and grabbed a cube of energon before he took off. As he left a thought came into his cpu, he was going to fly into Autobot territory and over the base, for no other reason but to cause distraction.

At the same time Marianne left the base with Anna and Bluestreak to take Ebony for a walk. He picked up Anna and placed her on his shoulder then they left the quarters together and walked out of the base. It was quite hot outside and the sun was shining brightly, adding to the brilliance of the light.

"Where would you like to go?" Bluestreak asked Marianne.

She looked up at him but found it difficult because the sun was right behind him and shining in Marianne's eyes. He bent down to her level as he did so Anna slid off his shoulder, he quickly caught her. Marianne looked at him,

"Put me down please" Anna asked, Bluestreak placed her on the ground. She went over to Ebony and started to play with her,

"Anna don't wander too far away." Marianne called,

"K" Anna replied .

"Marianne turned to Bluestreak,

"I don't know I'm not aloud to wander too far from the base, Mum won't let me" Marianne replied

"She's worried about you Marianne, she is only trying to protect you both"

"I know but it just gets annoying because I used to be able to go out with my friends alone. I guess I'm still adjusting to what's happening, I just wish she could give me more freedom. It's not fair Sides why did this have to happen to me"

"It's not just you Marianne, it's all of you including your father."

"My father! He's the one that got us into this mess! Why should I care about him?" she stormed off.

Ironhide was sitting outside, he saw Ebony and Anna wandering around and kept a watchful optic on them. He knew from his experience with Annabelle how quickly children can get distracted and wander off. He scanned the area but there weren't any Decepticons around. Ironhide knew the children would make an ideal prize or bartering tool if they were caught by them. He was waiting to take Lennox home after the meeting with Prime about the situation with Mick, Lou and her children. He saw Marianne heading back to the base and Bluestreak looking dejected. Ironhide transformed and walked up to him and placed his hand on Blue's shoulder,

"She'll be okay. She is right you know she has to readjust to this as well. She needs time!"

Bluestreak turned around to face Ironhide,

"She's very upset with her father."

"He let the family down!" Ironhide quipped, "Lou's face when she saw her house, I've never seen a human look so sad, so lonely. They all have a lot to cope with and we have to help them!"

Bluestreak nodded, even though Ironhide was a battle hardened warrior he did have a sensitive side, particularly when innocents were caught up in their war.

OOOOO

Starscream had been patrolling the skies above Autobot headquarters…illegally! He saw Marianne, Anna, Ebony and Bluestreak and smirked evilly "_Here's my chance_! _I can grab the younglings now, the Autobots will come and rescue them, then Dark Orbit and Barricade can grab the femme. What can that Autoscum Bluestreak do? Pathetic little glitch!"_ He was pleased that he came up with such a cunning plan but then he noticed Ironhide, "_Frag!"_ He couldn't believe how much his luck had changed when Anna went off with Ebony, and Marianne walked away from Bluestreak and Ironhide; and their attention was diverted. He landed while transforming between Marianne and the base. She stopped dead in her tracks rooted to the spot with fear at the monster standing before her, his ruby optics pinning her down as he glared at her with pure malice,

"Come here little girl. Come to Screamer, he won't hurt you" he sneered.

Ironhide and Bluestreak heard the roar of a jet engine which stopped suddenly. They turned around,

"Bluestreak" Marianne called nervously.

Strarscream made a grab for her, she screamed and quickly backed away. Ironhide and Bluestreak were running towards her as Starscream made another grab for her,

"Marianne ruuuun" Bluestreak yelled as he released a missile but Starscream saw it and dodged. Marianne quickly turned to run towards Bluestreak and Ironhide. Ironhide opened his comm link and activated his cannons at the same time,

"**Prime! Screamer at the entrance back up needed. NOW!"** he yelled over his comm link.

He fired two blasts at Starscream who dodged them. Ebony returned from her exploration with Anna following close behind singing a song she enjoyed listening to on the radio, Ebony started barking and growling at Starscream. Starscream turned towards the barking dog and smirked evilly, Anna screamed when she saw him bring out his weapon and shoot Ebony, Ebony yelped and fell to the floor,

"Ebonnnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyy, " Anna cried out

Marianne run back toward Anna and Ebony but she was too late, Ebony had been shot! Starscream's optics moved to Anna,

"Mummy" she cried seeing the big monster staring at her, "Mummy. Bluestreak help me"

Anna didn't know what to do, she was rooted to the spot shaking, too scared to move. Starscream could sense her fear and vulnerability, he knew that Ironhide had his cannons aimed at him but he didn't care, there was a prize in front of him and he was going to take it!

"Marianne no" Bluestreak yelled as he run after her.

Marianne run torwards Anna but she tripped over a rock and fell hard onto her arm. Just as she got up Bluestreak grabbed her. He ran towards Anna and swooped her up just before Starscream attempted to grab her. Marianne was about to scream when she saw the white hands she recognised to be Bluestreak's. Marianne started getting dizzy as the pain from her injured arm set in.

"Get them inside! We'll take care of him!" Ironhide growled.

Jet fire, Jazz, Sunny and Sideswipe run towards Starscream bringing out their weapons. He was outnumbered and fled with the four mechs shooting him from the ground and Jetfire chasing him out of Autobot territory. Starscream took a shot in his wing but he still miraculously got away.

Bluestreak took the girls back to their quarters. Marianne was distraught as he placed her into Lou's arms. Anna flopped in Bluestreak's hand. When he looked at her she was pale and sweaty,

"Oh no" Bluestreak said as he rushed Anna to the Med bay in absolute terror, fearing she'd been killed. He was so frightened for Anna that he didn't tell Lou he had her,

"Marianne what happened? Where's Anna?" Lou was frantic when she saw Marianne but no Anna,

"Starscream came. He st-stopped m-me fr-from g-getting in-into the base and h-he k-kiiillllleed Ebonnnyyyyy" she wailed. Lou held onto her tightly as Marianne cried inconsolably into Lou's shoulder.

Bluestreak couldn't get Anna into the Med bay quick enough, he burst through the Med bay doors causing Ratchet to grab his wrench and turn around to see who would be so stupid as to get in trouble again,

"What on…Bluestreak what happened?" Ratchet barked when he saw Anna laying in his hand,

"Anna, she has died and so has Ebony."

Ratchet looked at Bluestreak then at the limp child in his hands. Bluestreak was in a state of panic as he frantically bolted over to Ratchet and thrust her under his nose. Ratchet looked at her and scanned her, he then went over to Bluestreak to scan him,

"Bluestreak pull yourself together!" Ratchet bellowed, "She is not dead, she has fainted. Sit on the berth over there, First Aid go and get Bluestreak a cube of energon" he ordered,

"But Ratchet, Anna" Bluestreak wailed

There wasn't really much Ratchet could do for her right now. He lay her on a berth and placed a blanket over her, then went back Bluestreak to find out what caused Anna to faint and why he thought Ebony was dead. First Aid came back with the cube of energon, he gave it to Bluestreak then went over to Anna to check on her.

First Aid was a helpful, compassionate Mech who had become well versed in Cybertronian medicine. He had been Ratchet's student on Cybertron and proved reliable during the aftermath of some of their more ferocious battles. Ratchet thought he was lost to the stars or killed in battle before First Aid arrived on Earth. He was so happy when he heard that First Aid was arriving with Brawn and Hoist, a smile came to the grumpy Mech's faceplate. Some Mechs nearly offlined with shock to see the grumpy medic smiling.

At that moment a frantic Sunstreaker burst into the Med bay,

"Ratchet it's their dog. She 's been shot."

"The dog has to go to the animal doctor. I can't do animals, I do Mechs and a few human injuries." Ratchet snapped,

"Ratchet please, it's bleeding!" Sunny wailed

Air came out of Ratchet's vents as he huffed in frustration,

"I can't treat her!" Ratchet yelled,

"Well what do I do then?" Sunstreaker screamed.

Ratchet looked at him and rolled his optics, he huffed in frustration and looked at Ebony,

"I can't do anything for her." he was beginning to get impatient now,

"Oh but Ratchet…please?" Sunstreaker pleaded quietly, but he knew when Ratchet's mind was made up there was no way of changing it.

"No Sunny! I can't do it! I need to go and check on Marianne" he snapped.

Ratchet left the Med bay and went to Lou's quarters to see how Marianne was, he knocked on the door but there was no answer. He tried again, this time Lou opened the door for him. He walked in and found Marianne sobbing on their bed, holding her arm. He gently sat down on the floor beside her and looked at Lou as he stroked Marianne's back. Ratchet didn't like to see sparklings, younglings or in this case children suffer,

"Lou I have Anna in the Med bay, First Aid is with her right now." he turned back to Marianne, "Marianne, Bluestresk tells me you were nearly grabbed by Starscream" she turned around and nodded,

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he shot my dog and I felloverandnowmyarmissore" she blurted.

"Can I look at your arm?" he asked gently as he held out his hand.

Marianne winced as she held out her arm. He didn't need to scan it to see she had broken it. The pain she was in and the lack of movement in her arm was enough to suggest it was broken; but he scanned it anyway so he knew what kind of fracture he was treating. She felt the sensation and tried to pull her arm away but Ratchet held onto her arm tightly."

"You've broken your arm" he said. "It needs to be put into a cast, I can do that for you. It's a medical treatment I have learnt to do since being on Earth"

"Okay" she sobbed.

He lowered his hand down so she could step on. She looked at Lou,

"Please come with me Mum"

Lou helped her daughter get up gently, careful not to touch her arm and cause her anymore distress. They sat in his hand and he took them to the Med bay, where he placed them on a berth. He took another look at Marianne's arm and started to treat it.

She winced as he moved it,

"Marianne I'm going to give you a local anaesthetic to numb the pain"

"Noooo" she cried as she shied away from him but he wasn't going to accept no for an answer and picked up a syringe especially adapted for him,

"Look at your Mum" he said. She turned away as he put the needle into her arm,

"Ow owowowowowowow" she cried,

"SShh Marianne, your doing well" he cooed as he drew the needle out.

Lou cuddled her again while Ratchet waited for the anaesthetic to work. He continued on with the treatment while Marianne stayed snuggled in Lou's arms. He looked at Lou and noticed her looking towards Anna,

"There!" he said "It's finished! Come and see me in a few days time and I will make sure that it is setting properly. Now I just need to talk to your Mum"

He picked Lou up and walked her away from Marianne,

"You alright?" he asked concerned. Lou shook her head,

"He hurt my children and shot my dog" she snarled, "Why did he shoot my dog and go for my children? They want _me_! Why go for_ them_?" she was very angry.

"I don't know Lou. He is Decepticon that's what they do. Come, I will take you to Anna."

Bluestreak got off his berth and sat with Marianne while she waited for Lou to come back,

"Hi. You okay? I'm sorry this happened to you. If I was looking it wouldn't have happened. Honestly! What was I think..." Marianne put her small hand on Blue's huge shoulder,

"Really Bluestreak, It's okay!" she moved closer to Bluestreak and snuggled into him. He smiled as he picked her up and held her close to his spark chamber while she waited for Lou to finish fussing over Anna. Marianne felt safe in Blue's arms.

"I was so scared Bluestreak" she cried. He gently rubbed her head and softly comforted her.

Optimus Prime came in and sat with Marianne and Bluestreak,

"I'd like a report from you Bluestreak." He looked at Marianne and rubbed her head,

"How are you little one?" he asked gently,

"I'm okay Optimus Prime. I'm just scared!"

"I know little one. I hear you were very brave out there, running for Anna and Ebony, but next time you must listen to Bluestreak"

"There won't be a next time!" Marianne clipped,

"I wish that were true Marianne" he replied solemnly, then got up and walked toward Ratchet , Lou and Anna.

Ratchet turned around when Optimus Prime moved towards the berth where Lou and Anna were, he moved aside so that Prime could come towards the berth,

"How is the little one?" he asked

"She's okay she should come around soon" Ratchet said, "Just give her time, she has had quite a shock." Optimus Prime looked at Lou,

"How are you?" he asked,

"He went for my dog and my girls!" she seethed, "Why did he do that? He wants me! Why did he go for them? They are just children!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her blue eyes boring into him demanding a response. She sighed and shook her head as she turned around to look at Anna, "I am just relieved that Bluestreak and Ironhide were out there with my girls." she said quietly, "I don't want to think what would have happened if they weren't"

"I don't know why he went for them, they have not spoken to us. The base is on full alert again and we are prepared in case anything happens. Do not worry Lou we are going to do all we can to keep you and your children safe." Prime replied as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She felt reassured by what Prime said but worried for her husband and the outcome of all this. Optimus Prime really wanted to promise Lou that this would all come to an end soon. He wished it would; but he knew that in all reality the Decepticons would never give up until they get what they want. He wasn't going to allow that to happen!

Ratchet went back to see how Anna was. He could see colour coming back into her face and upon feeling her forehead she had lost that cold clammy feel. He did a light scan on her, her vital signs had gone back to normal. He looked at First Aid who was standing nearby and thought now would be a good time to teach him how to deal with humans when they are ill.

"So First Aid tell me what you think?"

"She looks…dead!" First Aid replied,

"No she isn't, she has fainted! Humans do that sometimes if things are too hard for them to cope with. They call it shock and Anna has certainly shown symptoms of shock. When she wakes up we will need to give her lots of reassurance because she will be very frightened from the events that happened outside and seeing Ebony, their family pet hurt"

Ratchet gently stroked her hair, her eyes fluttered open, she held onto his finger and looked around. She could see Ratchet and First Aid talking to each other but she couldn't see her mummy and was frightened,

"Mummy" Anna cried weakly. Ratchet looked down at her,

"Hey little one! How are you?" he said gently. He wanted her to stay as calm as possible,

"Okay" she whispered, "Where's my mummy?"

"She's just over here with Marianne, I will take you to her"

Ratchet wrapped her in a blanket, picked her up and gave her to Lou,

"Oh my poor baby" Lou cooed as she cuddled Anna,

"Mummy I was scared" Anna whimpered,

"I know sweetheart. It's okay, you're safe now Don't be scared anymore!"

Lou rocked Anna gently as she hummed a simple tune which she used to hum to them when they were babies. Anna smiled and snuggled into Lou's arms and drifted off to sleep. Ratchet came and checked on the family,

"She's sleeping. It's the best thing for her" he said with a smile.

Lou looked at Bluestreak,

"Thank you…for protecting them" she said. Bluestreak nodded at her.

"You may take them back to their quarters. Lou, Clash is off duty. He is at your quarters."

"Okay" Lou replied. Bluestreak picked them up and took them to their quarters.

* * *

Ironhide had written a report about the events that happened outside. He couldn't believe he hadn't detected Starscream on his scanners, he had kept an optic to the sky since Anna wandered away with Ebony; and even though she hadn't wandered too far he still felt it was prudent to keep an optic on them. He wasn't happy because Starscream had harmed the two children and he was out there. He couldn't understand how Starscream had managed to get so close to the base and to the children. He wrote in his report for Optimus Prime how he had been scanning the area, and watching Anna and Ebony when Marianne was talking to Bluestreak but he had missed Starscream. Optimus Prime reassured him that it wasn't his fault. Starscream can be very crafty or he had jammed his signal,

"I know but if I had of kept watching the area we wouldn't have missed him." Ironhide said,

"Ironhide, stop beating yourself old friend. The point is you were out there when it happened. Bluestreak wouldn't have been able to cope with protecting Anna, Marianne and Ebony as well as fight Starscream alone. We could have lost them all."

Ironhide was still not satisfied with that and went to see Ratchet to get his scanners checked. He didn't want this to happen while he was protecting Will Lennoxes family unit. Ratchet couldn't believe his optics when Ironhide walked into his Med bay to be checked over,

"What got under your armour?" Ratchet asked in surprise, normally he would have to drag Ironhide by his helm under the threat of being blasted away by his cannons.

"Starscream!" Ironhide snarled,

Ratchet run a scan on all of Ironhide's systems. It wasn't an opportunity he was going to miss, but they were working perfectly well,

"Nothing wrong with your scanners Ironhide. Starscream probably found a way of jamming his signal. Don't blame yourself for what happened. I know for certain that Lou and her children don't blame you or Bluestreak. They're just grateful that both of you were out there."

Ironhide nodded, he left the med bay and went to the rec room to fetch a cube of energon, then he went to his quarters where he lay on his berth and thought about what happened. It wasn't long before his thoughts turned to Chromia, at times like this he really missed her. He reached out to her through his spark, Ironhide felt Chromia's response as she reached out to him, bringing him comfort from. He really missed her and wished she could be right there with him now, in his arms.

Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee came back from the vets and went to Lou's quarters. Lou was talking with Marianne about what they'd do when all this was over. It was a happy conversation although Lou was concerned about Marianne's feelings for Mick and hoped that they could reconciliate when all this was over, "_If we ever see him again!_" she thought to herself sadly. Marianne noticed the change in Lou's expression,

"It will be okay Mum" Marianne said as she lent forward and placed her hand on Lou's. Lou smiled at her daughter and stroked Marianne's face with her hand. She couldn't help but think how grown up her daughter was now, she had blossomed into a young lady.

"Thank you darling" she replied.

Lou heard the knock at the door and went to answer it. She was pleased to see Sam and Mikaela with Bumblebee,

"Hi Mrs. Ferrier. We have taken Ebony to the vet. She is undergoing surgery at the moment, he is very concerned for Ebony and it will be touch and go. She has had some serious injuries and blood loss. He will give you a ring when Ebony is out of surgery."

Lou nodded sadly, the family loved Ebony. They'd lost their house and their husband and Dad, she didn't want to lose their dog too!

"Thank you" Lou said sadly.

Well that was chapter 9.

Hope you enjoy reading it, I enjoyed writing it!

Hope to get another chapter out before Christmas. If I don't have a good Christmas!


	10. Chapter 10

Transformers do not belong to me apart from Dark Orbit and Clash.

Lou, Marianne, Anna, Mick and Ebony.

* * *

**CHAPTER 10**

**ATTACK**

The Autobots were expecting a Decepticon attack at any time. Everybody in the base was tense as they waited for the Decepticons to make their move. A few mechs had become good friends to Lou, in particular Clash, Sunny, Sides, Bluestreak, Ironhide and Jazz. Even Ratchet had a soft spot for the feisty blond, curly haired woman. He sat in his office and smiled at the first time she opened her eyes to find herself face to face with him, and when she challenged him because he wouldn't let Marianne leave the med bay before the party. The thought of losing them to the decepticons deeply weighed upon his spark and he resolved himself to protecting her no matter what the consequences would be.

Optimus Prime didn't know what the Decepticons were planning. He knew that Starscream intended to attack the Autobot base, and he knew that Starscream was after Lou but he couldn't work out why, and this bothered him! At least when Megatron was alive he would make his plans known at some stage but Starscream was a different case altogether. Apart from Dark Orbit telling Mirage that they were going to attack the base and come for Lou, he couldn't help but think Starscream had another motive for his attack. There was a knock at his door,

"Come in" Optimus Prime called as he shifted data pads and piled them up neatly on his desk.

Ironhide walked in through the door, sat in front of Optimus and glared at his leader. Prime glanced up from the pile of data pads. Optimus knew that look,

"What's the matter old friend?" he questioned

"Have we heard from the Decepticons yet?" Ironhide snarled,

"No Ironhide we haven't" Optimus Prime replied sadly,

"Cowards! They want to catch us on the back foot, hoping we aren't ready, no doubt!."

"I know Ironhide, and that bothers me, but we will be ready and I am hoping that will surprise them"

Optimus Prime got up and moved to look at the picture on the wall, Ironhide followed Prime's movements. He loved the picture of Iacon and hoped they would ber able to return someday,

"Me too Prime. I don't want to see Lou or her children hurt or caught by the Decepticons. Just wait till I get my hands on that glitch of a husband of hers" he said as he punched one fist into a hand, "I'll give him a piece of my…."

"Easy there Ironhide!" Prime soothed gently, he walked back to Ironhide and placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, "The last thing Lou needs at the moment is one of my best warriors going on a vendetta against her husband"

"Yeah Prime you're right"

Ironhide sat there thinking about the first time he met her, and when he took Lou to her house. He smiled as he remembered when they went to the Lennoxes place for a barbeque, the look of joy on Lou's face as she watched Marianne being chased by Jazz and Sideswipe with the water bombs, and the new friendship Lou had found in Sarah and Judy. Ironhide smiled, but suddenly it disappeared, his mood changed to one of anger,

"I'm going to do all I can to protect this family from Starscream and his followers." he snarled, "They are not going to get their hands on the family and it would be over my dead body if they do!"

Ironhide had a look of determination in his optics as he got up and walked out of Prime's office. Optimus Prime knew what Ironhide had said was true, he knew that if there was someone worth fighting for then Ironhide would go all out to protect whoever the victim was. And beware anybody who tried to stop him!

The base had been put on full alert again! Lou and the girls knew that a Decepticon attack was imminent and Lou knew she had to stay calm for the sake of her children. It didn't mean she wasn't frightened because she was overwhelmed with fear. Fear of the unknown! The family had been told they couldn't go anywhere without their guardians and they weren't allowed too far from the base. She put Anna into bed and lay with her to help her settle down. Lou placed her head on the pillow and thought about the happy times she had with her family before all this happened, and wished she could go back there. A tear slid down her eye, this was going to be her hardest test of all. Sure with everything that has happened there had been trying times but now she faced a fear so great and she didn't know how to fight it. The thought of losing her children, or seeing her children taken from her and not being able to do anything about it made her feel hopeless, she felt so lonely and wished her husband was there with her. Then there was the thought of what would happen to her children if anything happened to her or Mick. She wasn't sure she could trust him with them if she died, what if they took her and tortured her because of her husband? There was no way of being able to answer these questions or prepare herself for what lay ahead. She lay on her bed and let out a simple prayer asking for strength to face what may lay ahead. She could hear footsteps then a gentle knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts,

"Lou, you in there?"

Lou got up and walked to the human door and opened it, it was Clash. She opened the door Autobot sized door and let him in. She didn't greet him with her usual happy self, her appearance wasn't as neat and tidy as it usually was and there was a heavy frown across her forehead. He did a light scan, her heart rate was beating rapidly and her system seemed to be all over the place. He knew she was fretting over the what may happen to them, he gently picked her up and held her close to his spark chamber while he rubbed her back and gently soothed her. She felt safe there, ohhh sooo safe! She felt like she was in a place where nobody could get her and her fears melted away. She wished this moment would never end but knew it would. Clash knew there was really nothing he could say to her that would reassure her that everything would be okay, there was no guarantee it would! Ratchet had warned him against telling her things would be okay because as in all wars you never know which way they are going to swing. Marianne came bursting through the door with a huge smile which quickly disappeared when she saw Clash with her mother,

"Mum? You okay?" she asked, "Mum?" She went up to Clash who bent down to pick her up. They both sat in Clash's hand hugging each other,

"Marianne I know I say this to you all the time but I love you. Please remember that. No matter what happens I. will. Always. Love. You. Both!" she said,

"We love you too mum" Marianne replied.

"Lou, Bluestreak and I have been instructed to stay with you until the threat is over. We know the Decepticons will attack but we don't know when, so we need to be ready to move you to a safe place immediately"

Lou nodded in affirmation of this,

"It's really going to happen isn't it?" Marianne asked, "Can't I stay with Sam and Mikaela? I would be safe there!"

"No Marianne! You can't because Bumblebee is on his way back now, and if you are there we can't protect you and it would also put Sam and his family in danger."

Wheeljack hid his invention in a vault buried deep under the base. This was where most of his inventions ended up so that the Decepticons couldn't get hold of them. It was also the place where they'd hide Lou and the girls if necessary.

Hound and Red Alert were both in the monitor room watching, waiting in silence. The atmosphere in the room was tense as both had optics peeled to the screens. They didn't have to wait long!

"Here they come" Red Alert growled.

Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp flew towards the base all prepared for the battle that lay ahead, they were accompanied by the coneheads. Starscream had briefed his warriors so each and every Mech knew what they had to do and understood what part they played in the battle. Barricade and Dark Orbit were racing through the woods to get to the base, their red optics shining in the dull light created by the shadows from the leaves of the trees, their mission; to retrieve Lou and the girls if possible. They got to a clearing before they heard the roar of the engines from the seekers. They stopped and waited before they could go the rest of the way. Starscream would fire missiles at the base first to create confusion, and take down the Autobot guards, then Barricade and Dark Orbit would go in and collect the woman and the children while the coneheads locate Wheeljack's lab and collect the weapon.

"Whoosh!" the first missile had been released,

"Whoosh!" went the second one.

Barricade and Dark Orbit watched with glee as the missiles made a direct hit on the base sending up flames and plumes of smoke from the explosion, debris went everywhere and already the blood curdling screams from injured Mechs could be heard.

* * *

The morning had started off quiet and there was an odd serenity about the base. It was quickly interrupted by Red Alert's voice booming over the intercom and the sound of sirens signalling attack,

"Incoming!"

Optimus Prime rose up from his chair and raced out of his office, he heard the call for all Mechs to be at their battle stations, ready! He raced through the corridors to the ops room,

"What's happening?"

"Missiles inbound!" Red Alert growled,

"And Decepticons!" Hound continued, "Flying and coming in on ground"

"Boom!" the first missile hit shaking the base,

"Boom!" the second one hit causing the monitors to glitch. Red Alert's fingers flew across the keys on the keyboard desperately as he tried to stabilise the computer.

Clash and Bluestreak immediately went into action as they picked up Lou and the girls and raced out the door,

"Mummy I want my baby!" Anna screamed as she tried to wriggle out of Bluestreak's arms,

"No Anna! There is no time we have to get you to safety. NOW!" The red and white sniper insisted.

Marianne screamed and Lou looked around Clash's arm for Bluestreak and her children but she couldn't see them through the thick orange smoke,

"Clash my children!" she screamed, he stopped and turned around. Bluestreak burst through the smoke with both children in his left hand, punching any Decepticon out of the way who tried to get near him with his other hand. He had a look of determination on his face as he maintained his promise to keep the children safe; a promise he had made to Optimus Prime from the very first time he took on guardianship of the girls.

"They're safe Lou!" Clash yelled and continued charging through the base desperate to get Lou safely to the vault.

Decepticons were now pouring through the hole in the wall caused by the missiles the coneheads were amongst them. They made their way down the corridor through the chaos caused by the smoke and rubble, it didn't take them long to find the white scientist just outside his lab. Dirge grabbed hold of his fins and pushed him back into his lab, he held the white mech down on a table while Thrust pulled his lab apart trying to find the weapon,

"Can't find it!" he growled,

Dirge got right into Wheejack's face, his eyes narrowing into mencing slits,

"Where is your weapon?" he snarled dangerously,

"It's on my shoulder! I can give it to you, if you want it?" Wheeljack growled back while fighting off the blue mech.

Dirge got off Wheeljack and pulled him up. Wheeljack cried out in pain as Dirge hauled him up and threw him back against the wall,

"Don't get smart with me _AUTOSCUM!"_ He spat back, "Where is the weapon you invented?"

Outside the door Ramjet was guarding the door to keep any Autobots away, Perceptor hid around the corner of the corridor waiting for his perfect opportunity to attack, his weapon ready to fire. Mirage saw Ramjet standing by the door and the red scientist waiting around the corner, the blue and white mech activated his cloaking device and raced towards Ramjet grabbing him and pulled him away from the door. Percy saw the opportunity and raced to the door, he opened it and went straight for Dirge,

"You will _never _find it!" the white inventor hissed through his mouth components as he lifted his legs and aimed a kick at the the blue decepticon, shoving him into Percy. Thrust grabbed Wheeljack and pushed him to the ground. He heard Percy cry out in pain after a terrible noise. When he looked around Percy was laying motionless on the floor with his arm ripped off exposing delicate wiring and broken fuel lines. Dirge menacingly approached Wheeljack,

"Now" he snarled darkly, "The weapon!"

"You are not going to get it!"

Wheeljack growled as he released a missile but Dirge avoided it, it hit the ceiling of the base sending rubble all over the place, which hit Thrust on the head, denting it. Dirge pointed his weapon at Wheeljack,

"You are going to pay for that! You will end up like your little Autobot friend there but first we'll get Soundwave to help you offload your information"

Soundwave entered the room staring at Wheeljack menacingly. Thrust and Dirge held Wheeljack down and opened a panel on his right arm while Soundwave pulled out a probe from his own arm. The probe was placed into an interfacing port in Wheeljack's arm. Soundwave didn't waste anytime searching for the information he wanted; the whereabouts of the weapon. Wheeljack fought hard to stop the information being retrieved as as he felt Soundwave getting closer, but the harder he fought the greater the pain, _"I'd rather die than let the Decepticons get hold of the weapon," _he thought as he desperately tried to stop Soundwave. He knew that not only would the decepticon find the weapon but Lou and the children as well.

"Stop fighting, you are making it more difficult for me" Soundwave roared.

Wheeljack carried on groaning in pain and fighting Soundwave, in the end it was too much. Wheeljack shut his systems down as he went into stasis, if this is what it would take to protect the whereabouts of the weapon then this is what he would do!

"Kill him!" Soundwave ordered.

Dirge stood up above Wheeljack and shot him. Mirage returned after his fight with Ramjet and went into Wheeljack's lab. He was horrified when he saw his fellow Autobot unconscious,

"Over here!" he bellowed, "I need some help!"

* * *

Ironhide came up beside Bluestreak aiming his cannons at any Decepticon who dared to come near Bluestreak and his charges. Ravage was following closely behind them but took a shot from Ironhide's cannon. He snarled as he fell, his optics dimming as he struggled to get up.

"Go!" Ironhide yelled to Bluestreak, "Get them to safety!"

Bluestreak and Clash continued heading toward the vault. The battle was in full swing! Everywhere Lou turned she could see Autobot and Decepticon Mechs fighting, groaning and falling. It was noisy as cannons blasted and Mechs screamed in pain. The smell of leaking energon and Mech fluid was acrid. Suddenly a red and a yellow mech turned up beside Clash,

"We'll clear your path!" they yelled at the dark blue mech, "Just get her to the vault!"

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe started to fight as Decepticons made a rush for Lou and Clash but the thick of the battle lay ahead. Lou started to shake when she realised he had to get her through it,

"It's okay little one, shh, shh." He wrapped a hand around her to protect her from the sight that lay ahead of them.

"Keep moving!" Clash demanded to Bluestreak who by now was right beside him with Ironhide on the other side.

Clash fired shots at Decepticons that tried to lunge at him and Lou. On the battle field he is formidable but right now he's only focus was to get Lou and the children to safety. Ironhide saw a Mech go for Lou, he shot his cannon and the Mech tumbled to the ground splattering energon everywhere, just missing Lou. On the way to the vault she saw Barricade. He saw her and snarled as he made a grab for her. Clash clenched his fingers tightly around Lou and drew his arm away from Barricade's terrifying claws. He used his other hand to stop Barricade but the black and white saleen pushed Clash out of the way against the wall, Soundwave was livid at the failure to retrieve the weapon and when he saw the dark blue Autobot down he didn't waste any time and took the opportunity to shoot Clash. The Autobot took two shots in his leg and one in the hand which was holding Lou, she screamed as he cried out in pain. The shot hit a wire which stopped his hand from working, he was no longer able to hold onto Lou as his fingers involuntarily unwrapped themselves from Lou, exposing her to the mercy of the two decepticon mechs. He buckled and watched helplessly as Barricade grabbed Lou from his hand, laughing evilly and run away with her. Marianne watched in horror her eyes wide and her mouth open to scream but nothing came out. Ironhide turned around as he heard Clash call out. He looked to Clash who was on the floor and then to Barricade running off with the distressed woman.

"Nooooo" Clash yelled as he tried get up but Dark Orbit caught the Autobot warrior as he took a step forward and plunged his sword into dark blue Mech's chassis, slicing through metal, fuel lines and narrowly missing his spark chamber before he threw him across the corridor. Clash lay there helpless cursing the decepticon spy as energon trickled out of the wound. Dark Orbit walked up to him, smirking

"We have your human pet now and you can't do anything about it" he snarled darkly as Clash started to lose consciousness and his world blackened.

"Nooo!" Sunstreaker growled as he pushed Dark Orbit away from Clash,

"Sunstreaker get Clash to the Med bay. Sideswipe come with me!" Ironhide ordered. They both run in the direction that Barricade took, fighting their way through the battle.

Lou started to fight Barricade,

"Let me go you evil…" Lou growled as she struggled and tried to get free of Barricade's grip but he just tightened his fingers around her midriff.

"Shut up femme" Barricade snarled darkly, "There is no point in screaming, your guardian can't do anything for you now. He's dead! You may have escaped us in the car park but we have you now!"

Lou wasn't going to accept that and she certainly wasn't going to be taken from the Autobot base quietly. She screamed a high pitched scream, causing Barricade to stop and shake his head as he tried to bring his audio sensors back to normal function. Sideswipe and Ironhide saw him and seized the opportunity to rescue Lou

"Let her go you useless hunk of metallic junk" Sideswipe growled as Ironhide shot at him but Barricade avoided the onslaught and continued racing down the corridor.

Meanwhile Sunny picked up Clash and took him to the Med bay. Dark Orbit wasn't going to allow them to get past and tried to wrestle Sunstreaker down but Cliffjumper and Inferno pushed Dark Orbit off allowing Sunstreaker safe passage with the injured mech. He turned up in the med bay covered in bright pink streaks from where Clash had leaked energon on him,

"What happened?" Ratchet growled,

"Soundwave and Dark Orbit injured Clash and Barricade took Lou,

"Alright put him on that berth there." Ratchet ordered, "_This is not going so well!" _Ratchet thought to himself but didn't mention it to anybody else, morales of injured mechs were already getting low as more mechs arrived at the med bay

Sunstreaker did as he was told and went back out to find his brother and help him retrieve Lou but he was too late. Barricade laughed evilly as he saw Marianne, his prize in his hand followed by a small army of decepticons who were shooting at anything which moved. Marianne watched everything that was happenning and quickly turned around to shelter Anna from the scene,

"Mum no Mum!" Marianne whimpered quietly so as not to alarm her little sister anymore than she was, "Bluestreak we have to go back! You have to get Mum!" she whispered

She tried to wriggle out of his hands but had a hold of her firmly. Two Decepticon Mechs come up behind Bluestreak but were quickly brought down as Jazz and Prowl grabbed them.

"No little one. We can't do that!" Bluestreak gently repiled as he stroked her hair away from her face, he cringed at the pain in her eyes,

"Let me go! she screamed as she wriggled but she couldn't get out. She turned to Jazz,

"Jazz please!Tell him!" she cried,

"No! Can't happen little one! Be brave we'll get your mum, Barricade has a long way to go before he gets outta here."

"Please" she begged. But it was to no avail.

Jazz saw the door to the vault,

"Blue go!" The silver mech yelled, two shots rung out, one of which hit Blue in the side ripping apart his armour. He yelled out in pain and slid to the ground, the other just scraped Jazz on his leg. Bluestreak tried to get up but stumbled and dropped Anna and Marianne. Both the girls screamed! Sunstreaker turned around when he heard their screams, he lunged forward and caught them before they fell to their death.

Both Sunstreaker and Prowl run with Ironhide following them firing at anyone who tried to stop them. They got to the vault and punched in the code while Jazz took Bluestreak to the med bay

"Look out" Sunstreaker yelled. Ironhide turned around just in time to see Dark Orbit's blade move toward him, he quickly jumped out of the way missing any injury.

The Decepticon tried again but this time they were prepared. Sunny spun around, lifting one leg into the air as he did and swiped the decepticon across the chassis, it knocked him back giving the mechs a chance to put the children in the vault.

Prowl and Sunstreaker took the girls into the vault,

"Stay here! We will come and get you when this is over" they instructed.

They run back out and locked the door behind them before rejoining the battle. Prowl and Sunstreaker heard a cry for help and when they looked around they found Wheeljack and Perceptor seriously injured on the floor with Thrust and Dirge above them. Dirge was aiming his weapon at Wheeljack ready to give one final shot but Prowl shot him first. They run to Wheeljack and carried him to the Med bay, with Mirage and Ironhide following closely behind with Perceptor.

* * *

The vault was dark, apart from the little light Jazz had produced from his sub space and given to Marianne, and cold. Marianne started to shiver as she looked around the room. In the dim light, they saw all Wheeljack's inventions sitting on the shelf, well the ones that didn't blow up in his face! Marianne turned around shining the light around the room, the light came upon a clear area which was just enough space for the girls to sit in. It was also partially secluded so they would be out of sight if a decepticon were to find the vault. They sat there, both of them sobbing and shivering as they heard the faint rumbles of the battle above them. Marianne could hear Anna sobbing,

"Shh Anna. We must be brave" Marianne whimpered as she tried to sooth her sister and huggged her tightly,

"I want my mummy!" Anna wailed. "Where's my mummy?"

Marianne simply shuddered as she tried to hold in the sobs, but it didn't work. They heard someone trying to punch in a code, the girls sat on the ground looking toward the door, trembling, scared to breath. It stopped! a sigh of relief could be heard from both of the girls.

* * *

Bumblebee was fighting, out of the corner of his optic he noticed Barricade running with Lou clenched tightly in his fist. "_Oh no you don't!"_ He raced toward Barricade but was too late. Lou was placed in Thundercracker's cockpit. Thundercracker didn't waste any time as he took a run than flew into the air as he transformed, Lou was shifted around then strapped in tightly. Jetfire saw what happened, he took off after Thundercracker but he was soon outnumbered when Thundercracker was joined by Skywarp and the coneheads.

Starscream was fighting with Optimus Prime and not doing so well. He got the message from Barricade that they have Lou,

"**What about the weapon**?" he snapped,

"**Thrust couldn't find it! **Barricade snarled. Starscream suddenly took off,

"Oh no you don't! Come back here you coward! Prime growled as he aimed his cannon at the seeker and shot him. He hit Starscream in the wing causing him to lose balance and altitude but Starscream still managed to get away. Prime turned around and saw Bumblebee,

"Prime. I'm so sorry." Bumblebee lifted his hands as he apologised, "I tried to stop Barricade taking Lou, but Thundercracker took her and flew off with her."

Optimus Prime put his hand on Bee's shoulder. He knew the young Scout would have tried his hardest but sometimes things just don't go as planned,

"Don't worry Bee I know you did!" Prime reassured him, "I want you to go to the vault to collect the girls"

Nobody heard the order go out from Soundwave to Rumble to pummel the base with his piledrivers. Rumble raced to the top of the base and started to hammer the roof until the base started to shudder. He jumped off as the roof caved in burying Prime and Bee, and causing others standing nearby to run for cover. Jetfire came back to see the entrance to the base falling apart. He circulated the base and found Rumble, he swooped down low and grabbed the casseticon before landing. He opened his com link,

"**All available Mechs to the base entrance NOW! The entrance to the base is destroyed and Prime and Bee are under the rubble"**

He landed in front of the pile of rubble, energon was seeping from underneath. The seeker looked in horror at the realisation of who the energon may be coming from. He lifted up Rumble so they were optic to burning blue optic,

"You. Will. Pay!" he growled menacingly before thrusting the small, purple against the wall. Rumble looked up at Jetfire and laughed at him, Jetfire lifted his foot,

"Jetfire that's enough!" a voice boomed. It was Ironhide, who was injured from falling debris from the base entrance. "As annoying as the little rust bucket is, we can use him as a bartering tool."

"Sorry!" Jetfire replied, "You'd better get to the Med bay and get those wounds sorted. We can deal with this!",

"I'll be okay" Ironhide nodded, "I've been through worse than this!" he continued muttering as he trudged towards the med bay.

Rumble was watching the conversation and seeing the two mechs were distracted had seized his opportunity to escape and took off. He could hear Soundwave calling him back, he quickly transfomed back into a cassette and slid back into Soundwave's chest. Sunstreaker came out to the entrance to help dig out Prime and Bee,

"Hey was that little fragger meant to be getting away?"

"No!" Jetfire snarled at Sunstreaker.

Meanwhile the door to the vault opened. Marianne and Anna held their breath, as they heard the footsteps of two mechs entering the room. They both heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Prowl and Sideswipe walk in. The two mechs picked them up and took them out,

"Where's my Mum?" Marianne snapped. Sideswipe looked at Marianne sympathetically, he didn't know how to answer the upset girl. She knew what the answer was and Sideswipe knew she knew. He wrapped his fingers tightly around them and held them to his spark chamber and gently rubbed their heads trying to soothe them,

"Better take them to the Med bay" Sideswipe said,

"No Sideswipe!" Prowl replied, "Take them to your quarters and comfort them there."

Sideswipe was just about to leave when they were called to the front entrance to help dig out Prime and Bee. Not knowing what to do with them, he took them to the Med bay.

In the Med bay Ratchet and First Aid were up to their elbows in energon, unconscious bodies and Mech fluid when news got to them that Optimus Prime and Bumblebee were buried under rubble and leaking energon,

"What are we going to do?" First Aid asked, "We need to go and get them!"

Ratchet calmly looked around the Med bay, most of the Mechs injured in the battle had been stabilised and were now recharging or in stasis lock. He knew he had to get to Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in case they needed stabilising before they were moved to the Med bay but there were also Mechs in the Med bay who needed attention as well. He knew Wheeljack wouldn't be able to help as he himself was injured and was in need of medical attention. The neon green medic swiftly moved towards Wheeljack and noticed his panel open in his arm and his interfacing port damaged. He knew what had happened and called First Aid,

"Connect him to this machine, he's gone into stasis to protect whatever Soundwave was after, most likely his weapon." They then went to work on Wheeljack to get him stabilised. The two medics moved over to Clash who was laying on a berth, Ratchet looked up and saw Sideswipe with the girls.

"This is no place for them, get them out of hear!" he barked.

"I know but they saw their mother kidnapped by Barricade. I can't calm them and I need to help dig out …" Ratchet shook his head,

"Fine, fine" he huffed, "Put them in my office" he snapped as he glared at the silver mech "_This should never have happened, they shouldn't be here" _he went over to Clash,

"Oh Clash" he groaned. Ratchet started working on him, he started off first of all by stabilising the injured Autobot and then treating his wounds which although they were serious; he would survive. Clash opened his optics.

"Hey there Doc. How am I doing?"

First Aid produced a syringe with sedative in it. Ratchet nodded at First Aid, he was impressed by the young Mech's quick thinking, especially as Clash was Lou's guardian,

"She's gone isn't she? I've failed!" Ratchet scanned him, he was starting to get angry and stressed

"SShh! Sshh!" Ratchet soothed as he placed the needle behind his neck and watched Clash offline slowly. Clash's optics dimmed and his systems powered down to a steady rhythem. Ratchet attached the blue mech to a machine to pump energon through his systems then he carried on working on him. Ratchet moved him to a quiet area where he could keep an eye on him; once he came around again he would be distressed because Lou was taken by Barricade,

"First Aid I need you to go to the front entrance and report to me the damage Bumblebee and Optimus Prime have sustained. Try to stabilise them there and I'll prepare for their arrival. I need to sort out these two younglings"

First Aid left the Med bay while Ratchet walked into his office. Air cycled through his vents as he looked at them with sympathy. They looked up at him, Anna was holding on tightly to Marianne and sobbing, Marianne looked at him then looked away as she tried to hold in her tears. Ratchet walked towards them and bent down, he gently wiped away Marianne's tears, picked them up and hugged them while shaking his head. What was he supposed to do with them? He looked into the Med bay and saw Ironhide and Jazz sitting on the berth, both under strict instructions to stay where they were for a while. Ratchet took them out of his office and walked up to Jazz and Ironhide,

"Here you are you two. Look after these younglings for me"

Jazz looked down at Marianne. Her eyes were puffy and her face was blotchy from crying so much. She was numb! First her Dad had betrayed them then her mum was kidnapped. Jazz held her close to his spark chamber and gently rubbed her back with his claw she snuggled in closer to the warmth his spark chamber emitted,

"It's okay little one. Jazz has you!" he soothed.

She looked around for Anna but couldn't see her, Jazz shifted a bit so he was facing Ironhide. There was Anna lying in Ironhide's hand sobbing while he gently rocked her and sung a gentle melody in Cybertronian, stroking her head at the same time. Jazz smiled, it had been ages since he heard that melody. Most femmes who had sparklings knew it.


	11. Chapter 11

Transformers are Hasbro's. Dark Orbit, Clash, Lou, Marianne, Mick, Anna and Ebony are mine.

Here is Chapter 11. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11

Strained reunion.

The mood was sombre and quiet around the pile of rubble as mechs desperately dug the wreckage to rescue Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Every now and then a whine could be heard from Bee but nothing was heard from Prime. First Aid turned up, he saw the energon pool which had grown in size and knew one, if not both of them were seriously injured. He opened his comm link,

"**Doesn't look good Ratchet**"

Ratchet grimaced at the those words; that was really not what he wanted to hear. He continued to prepare himself for the desperate struggle that lay ahead to save the lives of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. At times like this Ratchet was always calm yet worked efficiently, it was this part of his programming as a medic which would keep others calm when everything else around them looked hopeless. The neon green medic, along with everybody else could see a hopeless situation as he feared the loss of their leader and youngest member of the autobot army. He knew that it was going to be a long night; he didn't have the help of Wheeljack who could work on one while he worked on the other. First Aid would be able to help even though he had limited experience; he had proved reliable many times in the past when things had taken a turn for the worst.

* * *

Thundercracker took off quickly, Lou looked outside to see Optimus Prime and Bumblebee buried in the wreckage,

"Nooooo!" she screamed,

"Aha ha ha ha" Thundercracker laughed, "Now the Autobots are finished"

Lou frantically kicked at anything within reach inside Thundercracker's cockpit. She didn't care what damage she caused as long as she could get the decepticon to land...No such luck! All she got was an earful from the blue mech who rocked violently shaking her around inside,

"Stop that!" she yelled, "Stop it now and let me go!"

"Not likely…squishy!" the seeker spat.

"I'm not squishy!" Lou growled. She pulled at the seatbelt trying to release it,

"Yes you are. You're all soft and squishy, so you are squishy!"

"Careful!" warned Skywarp "You wouldn't want to explain to Starscream why the little vermin is dead, would you?"

Thundercracker growled, he loosened the seatbelt which gave Lou the opportunity to attempt wriggling under the seatbelt. Lou stopped when she realised the voice coming through the radio was referring to her as vermin,

"I beg your pardon! What did you call me? I am _not _vermin!"

Both mechs laughed at her,

"Yeah Skywarp maybe we should take her to the pest control."

"Yeah Thundercracker! You hear that vermin? We are taking you to the pest control. He'll deal with you!"

"You are not taking me anywhere I don't want to go to. You can land and release me"

"Nope! I ain't landin." Thundercracker's gravely voice laughed at her. She grabbed the side of the seat for leverage and gave his dials a good hard kick.

"Ow! You stop that!" he bellowed "Or I'll have to teach you a lesson, "

"Oh yeah and how do you propose to do that?"

"Want me to show you?" he laughed as he barrel rolled, "You should be grateful, I'm taking you to your husband."

"H-he's alive?"

Lou was stunned, she couldn't believe she was going to see him. She sat quietly as she thought of all the things she would say to him. She wanted him to know what she'd been through... what he'd put her through! In the last three months Lou had learnt very quickly how dangerous the decepticons were and she was going to make sure he understood that. That was going to be her mission...next to survival! Thundercracker could feel her becoming agitated and run a quick scan on her, her heart beat was racing. He smirked to himself evilly, "_This was going to be sooo much fun to watch!"_

"Yeah" Thundercracker sneered "and he's been very helpful"

"What do you mean?" Lou snapped,

"Well, we have you! He helped us find you" Thundercracker replied triumphantly,

"You're lying!" the angry blond yelled and gave the mech another hard kick. She didn't do any damage but she got a lot of satisfaction out of hearing him complain.

"What have I told you about kicking me? Stop it!" he screamed and nose dived as quick as he could before pulling up again, causing Lou to scream. The high pitched noise was too much for his audios, he rocked ferociously as he tried to balance himself.

"You are going to kill the femme" hissed Skywarp. "Then we'll all hear it from Starscream"

"It's not my fault! She screamed, it was too much for me to take"

"Oh poor little Thundercwacker. Can't take a human female's scweam" Skywarp mocked, shaking with uncontrollable laughter,

"Shut up you glitch!" Thundercraker roared at the purple mech.

The rest of the journey was quiet. Lou wasn't quite sure whether to believe Thundercracker or not. She sat in the cockpit thinking of all the things that happened, the house, the attack in the alleyway, the chase through the shops, even the questions the neighbour was asked. They always knew where she was or where she had been. Lou begun to wonder if maybe Thundercracker was telling the truth, then a little voice of reason spoke in the back of her head, "_No it's not true! Don't believe it!"_ Lou wanted to meet him, to hold him, to forgive him and say it's alright; but it wasn't alright. She was now being taken to the decepticon base, her worst fears realised. The anxious mother had no idea if her children were safe even though she knew she could trust the autobots to protect them, except now Lou didn't know if Optimus Prime and Bumblebee were dead or alive, or what became of the rest of the autobots.

They finally arrived at the Decepticon headquarters in the desert, Thundercracker landed and released the hood but the seatbelt was pulled in tight around her. Her breathing was restricted and she could feel bruising from Barricade's grasp and the seatbelt. She tried to wriggle again but the belt was too tight. A pair of strong, metallic, cobalt blue hands roughly grabbed her.

"Put me down!"

"Negative I will take you to Starscream" said metallic, monotone voice.

"Ravage come!"

Ravage followed his creator obediently smirking at the blond female, Lou was now starting to panic. She had no idea what was going to happen or what they wanted with her and begun to tremble with fear. Her stomach was rebelling against the influx of adrenalin building up in her system as Lou's flight or fight instincts started to kick in. She looked around at the barren desert; there was nowhere for her to run to and she was powerless to fight against these monsters, she started to heave and dry retch while the mechs laughed at her. Soundwave walked to a crop of rocks, they parted to give way to dark corridors. The communications officer carried his cargo along the corridors, they were grey with purple symbols on them. Lou had no idea what the symbols meant and assumed they were some kind of writing. She was taken to a room and dropped abruptly onto the floor, Lou got up, disgruntled by the mech's action and growled at him.

"Stay here! Ravage guard!" Soundwave ordered.

He walked out of the room and locked the door. Lou looked around the room, it was a very bland room, grey, with no furniture and no windows, but there were air vents in the walls. She took a step toward the door, Ravage took a step toward her, snarling, ruby optics boring holes into the human. Cold blue eyes glared back at the decepticon then Lou turned her back on him, she bent down and looked through the grating of the air vent, hoping it may be a way out. She jumped when she heard snarling right behind her. Lou turned around alarmed, lost her balance and fell backwards. The cat stepped over her and stood with two legs on either side of her body.

"Get away from me!" Lou yelled at the feline decepticon, but it didn't move.

Lou heard the door open,she turned around to see who it was. Soundwave made a gesture, the panther immediately walked away from Lou and back to his creator who patted Ravage on the neck then looked at Lou,

"Starscream will see you. Ravage return!"

Ravage pounced and transformed back into a cassette before entering Soundwave's chest which closed as soon as his creation was back. He turned and left with Lou following, she looked behind her the corridor was empty. With no idea where it would lead; Lou decided to chance it and run as fast as she could, daring not to look behind her. Soundwave turned around and chased her, his footsteps clanging on the floor as he run after her. She tried to run faster but the communications officer caught up to her in no time and scooped her up in his massive hands. Soundwave wrapped his fingers around her firmly. He turned back and took her into a room where she saw Mick tied in a chair.

At first sight of him she had compassion for the man. His face was bruised, cut and swollen, his clothes were torn to shreds and there were angry, red marks visible from his beatings, and bruises around his waist from where his rib cage had been squeezed. His skin had lost the healthy glow and his eyes were lacklustre. Mick's usually neat hair was caked in filth and blood and plastered to his head. Lou looked in horror at her husband's protruding rib cage which was showing through the rips in his shirt. Mick opened his mouth to speak to her but before he got a chance to say anything she looked at him with hatred and scorn. The angry blond walked up to her husband and punched him hard on his face, causing old wounds to open. His head moved backwards involuntarily with the blow and he started to feel dizzy, but avoided passing out. Mick wasn't expecting this and sat there in stunned silence.

"You foolish idiot!" she said anger lacing every word, "Do you know how much _trouble_ I've been in? Did you ever consider Marianne and Anna? You have_ ruined_ everything, our lives, our home, everything has gone!"

Lou was seething, her voice level increased at every word she spoke. The decepticons could hear this and came to watch the couple at war.

"S-sorry L-Lou I d-didn't know h-how much trouble…." he tried to apologise.

"No of course you didn't because you're a stupid, foolish idiot who doesn't think. Not only did you get yourself in trouble but it has affected us too." Lou leant forward and got right in Mick's face, "Well you've really done it now!" she hissed through gritted teeth, angry eyes boring into the man, before she stood up again. By this time more Decepticons had come to watch the show and they were really enjoying seeing Mick squirm as Lou laid into him verbally and physically. All the pent up ander and hurt from thew last three months boiled over. She was so angry she notice the mechs laughing at her. Mick tried to distract her,

"What about the children?" Mick asked, she stopped.

"They're safe as far as I know" she replied calmly. "No thanks to _**you**_!"

"Lou shut up! We. Are. Not. Alone"

Lou stopped abruptly and looked around; she saw at least five mechs standing there smirking with ruby red eyes glinting with glee as they watched her. Her fear had reached an indescribable level disarming her ability to think clearly and rationally. Then Lou did the only she knew in this unique and frightening situation; she ran up to her husband and hugged him, looking to him for comfort and help,

"What are we going to do? How do we get out of this?" she whispered,

"Speak up squishy we can't hear ya" a voice piped up and laughed hysterically along with the other mechs standing around,

"By giving me what I want" a voice sneered behind her. "Tell me about the weapon the autobots have" Lou looked around to find herself looking in the face of a large, brown, giant robot glaring at her evilly,

"What weapon? I don't know about any weapon" she snapped,

" _Wrong answer_!" Starscream snarled dangerously.

"Lou, be careful!" warned Mick. "They are not beings you should be messing around with."

"Very wise!" Starscream purred, "Good to see you are finally learning, shame you left it too late."

Starscream turned to glare at Lou, she noticed the ribbon of dried energon on his wing from where he'd been hit by Prime,

"You should listen to your pathetic husband, after all he knows what can happen if you don't cooperate" Lou looked at Mick,

"What does he mean? Mick, what have you done?" she whispered, dreading the answer. He looked down trying to escaper her accusing eyes,

"I've tried to hack into the Autobot security system to find out about the weapon they have but, I can't do it. Lou they want the information, give it to them before they really hurt you."

Lou was stunned; she knew how tough the system was. She shook her head, there was _no way_ she'd even consider betraying the Autobots. They had been so kind and helpful to her and the children. Just to think about betraying her friends like this sent cold shivers down her spine. She shook her head and laughed in disbelief,

"What makes you think I'd want to betray the Autobots. Especially after all they've done for me."

Lou turned to Mick, she could see the expression of terror in his face, the stunned man shook his head in disbelief at his wife's decision. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't do what they wanted,

"Self preservation you silly little femme. Your…self preservation! If you don't give me your answer you will die, along with your husband. Think about your children. Who will look after them once you two are gone. _Nobody_! Those Autobots won't protect them, they will be too busy looking after themselves. Especially once we have the weapon"

"How nice! The Autobot pet wants to protect her friends". Thundercracker sneered. She turned around and through gritted teeth growled,

"I am nobody's pet!"

"Lou, please" Begged Mick, "For me!"

Lou turnd around her blue eyes glaring dangerously at her husband, he looked so pathetic and pitiful. She shook her head and growled at the man then turned to Starscream,

"I do not know who or what you are, and frankly I don't care. Whatever you want, you won't get it from me! I will not betray the Autobots. _EVER!!" _

"Then so be it you foolish human! You are going to do this the hard way, I can't stop you. Just know this, we will get the information from you and you won't be able to stop it. Soundwave!" Starscream bellowed

* * *

Back at the Autobot base the sombre mood remained as more mechs arrived to help dig out the Autobot leader and the scout. Bee's whining had stopped which worried First Aid; it could mean that Bee had slipped into unconsciousness. The pool of energon was still growing rapidly from under the wreckage and rubble,

"**First Aid, any news?" **Ratchet asked over the the radio link,

"**No sir. Bumblebee has stopped whining and the energon is still seeping from under the rubble" **

Ratchet cycled air through his vents in a sigh which almost sounded human, he looked around the med bay everything was ready. All severely injured Mechs had been moved to the far end of the med bay to allow for space so Ratchet and First Aid could work on Bee and Prime, and allow the injured to rest peacefully while their internal systems healed themselves. Those who were not so severely injured were sent back to their quarters under strict instruction to come back the next morning for a thorough check. Jazz and Ironhide went back to Ironhide's quarters with the girls. Going to their own was not an option; both felt it would be too stressful for the girls if they were separated when they woke up, and Ironhide's quarters were bigger. Ratchet had every piece of equipment he would need ready by the berths and was convinced there was nothing more he could do to prepare the medbay for the arrival of the Optimus Prime and bumblebee,

"**Alright First Aid I have got everything organised. I'm coming!"**

Ratchet walked down the corridor muttering to himself and preparing himself for the worst. It was going to be a long night but he was going to do all he could to save the lives of his wise leader and the young bot they'd all grown to love. As he got nearer he saw the mechs working hard to dig out the pair, he also noticed how they were all beginning to look tired. The neon green medic opened his comm link to Ironhide and Jazz,

"**Hide we need you here, Jazz too. I am sending back Sideswipe and Prowl. I want you to give the girls to them and you come and help here, they both need some recharge. The girls can stay with them."**

"**Okay Ratchet. We're on our way."**

Jazz and Ironhide left the quarters, they met Prowl and Sideswipe and handed them the girls, both of whom were asleep,

"Mummy!" Anna whimpered when she was gently handed from Ironhide to Prowl, it almost melted his spark to see the sleeping eight year old,

"Sshh! Little one, go back to sleep" he gently soothed.

He really didn't want her to wake up, he wouldn't know what to do if she was to cry. He had logic circuits for battle plans not comforting sparklings of another species,

"Woah Prowl. I didn't think you had it in you!" Sideswipe laughed, Prowl snarled at him as he glared at the red mech,

"Get to the entrance!" he ordered Ironhide and Jazz.

Jazz and Ironhide arrived at the site and started to help clear away the wreckage. As the autobots were digging there was the sound of vehicles coming from the distance; digging stopped as the mechs watched with unease at the approaching vehicles. It was Epps and Lennox, they had heard about the battle from Sam and Mikaela. Every mech heaved a sigh of relief and got back to digging out Prime and Bee. The two teens wanted to come with them but the soldiers suggested they stay at home for a while, they weren't sure what they'd be going into and Starscream may already have a grudge against Sam for killing their leader and destroying the Allspark. The two men pulled up,

"Woah! What happened here?" Epps asked, concern written all over his face,

"Rumble caused a cave in; Prime and Bee are stuck under the wreckage" Jazz replied seriously,

Lennox looked toward the wreckage, he saw the pink fluid seeping through the holes and shook his head. He wasn't sure how Sam would cope if he lost the energetic yellow camaro, he certainly didn't like to think about losing Prime. He had become good friends with the wise leader,

"Pink fluid. That can't be good!" Lennox said,

"No it certainly isn't!" Ratchet replied sadly.

Neither Epps or Lennox missed the sadness in Ratchet's voice,

"What about Lou and the children?"

"The children are safe but Barricade and Thundercracker left with Lou" Ironhide growled,

"Where are the children now?" Lennox asked,

"With Prowl and Sideswipe resting" First Aid replied,

Lennox simply nodded, relieved that the children were safe but worried about Lou. Who knows what those decepticons would do with her and what effect this is having on the children. He thought back to Annabelle's first meeting with Ironhide. He scared her but she quickly got used to the big, black, gruff mech and now saw him as her second daddy. There was no two ways about it the woman would have to be rescued. He knew it wouldn't be long before the Autobots would be putting a rescue plan together, right now though, their main concern was Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.

Lennox and Epps looked at each other and nodded, they called their families and told them it would be a while before they got home. They then called up the military staff associated with the autobots to come and help. It wasn't long before a team of small humans were working next to the huge mechs to clear the wreckage away from Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Ratchet looked at the humans, even though they were small and vulnerable they were very resourceful and he really appreciated the extra hands. The humans never ceased to amaze him, but he had quickly learnt not to call them vulnerable to their faces. The mood lifted as the Autobots carried on removing the wreckage with renewed hope but deeply upset that their friend and the mother of the children had been taken.

* * *

There was a disturbance in the air in the decepticon base as a silent mech once again moved silently through the hallways. This was what he was created for and he was happy. It reminded him of the days on Cybertron at the outbreak of the war; despite his dislike for fighting and killing. He moved down the quiet dark corridors toward the brig where he knew Lou would be. He could hear the quiet sobbing of a female and moved toward the sound. He saw the confident blond sitting in the corner of the cell with her hands tied. She didn't have the usual look of determination that she'd get when pushed in a corner; she was trying to keep warm, shivering violently, looking hopeless. There was very little in the cells, a berth the humans couldn't get on and they were dark apart from the glow of the energon bars which shed a strange pink glow on everything.

Lou sensed that somebody was looking at her. She looked towards the entrance to her cell but didn't see anybody, sadly the Lou put her head back down onto her knees and closed her eyes. Mirage felt a tug at his spark and wished he could take her home now. That was not an option though, if a decepticon was alerted to his presence than he could be in trouble too. His mission was to find Lou and bring back the information so that the autobots would know where she was. Mirage had an Autobot symbol in his subspace, he always kept one to hand so he could leave them as a calling card to imrisoned Autobots caught by the decepticons. The blue and white spy believed it would give them a small amount of hope; he took it out and threw it into her cell. Lou heard the faint clanging sound as the symbol hit the metal floor. She looked toward the sound and saw the badge; very carefully and watching the entrance to her cell all the time she slowly crawled to the badge. Lou immediately recognised the face on the symbol as that of an autobot, she closed her fingers around the badge and closed her eyes, she opened them and looked up to see who was there. She couldn't see anybody but had a feeling she may know who it was,

"Mirage?" she whispered, but there was no answer.

He left just in time; as a Decepticon drone came down to check on the prisoners. He quickly glanced into Mick's cell, he was looking strained and anxiously pacing backwards and forwards in his cell, muttering to himself about how Lou should have just given Starscream what he wanted. Mirage knew what would come next for the female, he knew the torture she would be put through and sent an urgent message through to the autobot base. Lou heard the noise of the decepticon drone and quickly placed the symbol in her pocket and scowled at the drone staring at her. He left the brig leaving Lou with her thoughts and a slight glimmer of hope. She drifted off to sleep, and dreamed.

"_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday dear Anna_

_Happy birthday to you" _

"_Here's your present honey"_

"_Oh thank you mummy" the little girl said as she shook the package. Rattle, rattle. Rattle _rattle.

"Wake up squishy, no sleep for you!" Lou looked up still in a sleepy haze. It was Rumble; he walked away laughing.

"Go rust in a corner, you useless hump of metal" she yelled.

Lou didn't know how she was supposed to stay awake, she didn't know what time it was although she had the feeling it was early morning. The tired, frightened woman was just dozing off again when she heard heavy footsteps. They stopped at her cell, it was Barricade!

"Oh look if it isn't Starscream's little errand boy" she said sarcastically.

Barricade glared at her. He disliked Starscream and he resented doing the mech's fetching and carrying. The last thing he would ever be referred as is Starscream' s little errand boy. Especially by a human femme!

"Human get up!" he ordered.

She got up as the bars came down and moved toward the police mech slowly. He smirked menacingly as he roughly grabbed her shoulder and deliberately pierced her skin with his claws. The pain was excruciating as she felt muscles pierced. Mick watched in horror as blood oozed from huge holes in her shoulders and arms,

"Stop it! Leave her alone!"

Barricade laughed evilly and squeezed even harder; she groaned with the pain as she felt the bone give way under the pressure, he enjoyed the pleasure of hearing her groan. The police mech picked her up squeezing her waist. Lou could feel the breath being squeezed out of her as she pushed down on his hands trying to pull herself out of his hold but he had her firmly in his grasp and she was already weakened by the pain in her shoulder and blood loss. The decepticon took them both to Starscream.

She turned to see Mick, he looked horrified. Her face was twisted in agony and ashen in colour as she started to fade from the lack of oxygen. Lou turned away from him, Barricade revelled in the pleasure of seeing the female suffer and watching the male as he begged Barricade to leave her alone. Finally he picked up Mick who screamed and wriggled in terror, he placed the terrified man into the same hand as Lou. Mick scampered toward his injured wife and grabbed her by the arms,

"Lou, Lou. Look at me! Lou, you okay? Lou, baby please look at me" he creid desperately as he shook her. The curly haired woman turned to look at her husband, her eyes were glazed and expressionless, her lips trembling. She reached the limit of her ability to cope with the situation and fazed out.

"Oh Lou!" Mick cried, "My poor Lou! What have I done?" he cried while rocking her backwards and forwards.

Mick could hear a deep rumble emanating from Barricade as he laughed at the human's desperate attempts to comfort his wife. They were taken down to the main hall where Starscream was. He glared at Barricade when he saw the injured woman,

"I see you've had your fun with her!" he spat. "Put her down!" he ordered.

Barricade obediently put her on a table, Starscream came and sat in front of her. He smirked as he interwove his fingers, placed his elbows on the table and placed his chin on his hands. Lou looked around the room; it looked like the house of horrors, she then turned to Starscream who was sitting there smirking at her. Lou knew she would have to be strong if she was to survive, she looked at the brown mech as she gathered every ounce of courage she could to survive,

"Now then human. Give me the information or you will be punished while your husband watches you."

"Why should I? she spat. "Just so you can have it to use for your own evil desire, besides I know nothing about it"

"Liar" he yelled while thumping his hand on the table, making Lou jump "You will suffer!" He took her to Soundwave and dropped her in his hand.

"You know what to do!" Starscream growled.

Soundwave carried her to a table and laid her down, he then strapped her arms and legs down,

"What ae you doing! Get off, get off of me!" she growled as she struggled against Soundwave but it was no use.

Lou watched in horror as a small probe was produced from his arm. She screamed as he brought it toward her, Lou turned her head to the side but he grabbed her by the cheeks and holding her face firmly he turned it back so she was looking at the ceiling. There was nothing she could do as the probe made its way up through her nasal passages, ripping capillaries in the process. She could feel the pressure of his hold on her through her jaw and was convinced he'd break it.

"No" screamed Mick. "Don't do that to her! I'll do it! I'll do whatever you want!" he begged.

"Too late!" Yelled Starscream.

Mick crumpled as he heard Lou scream with terror and pain as she fought Soundwave's attempts to steal information she did not have and her memories,

"Stop fighting it, you're making it worse for yourself." Soundwave bellowed, "Give me what I want!"

"N-no you're not having anything from me, get out of my head!" she screamed.

The pain became intense as she fought again but she was beginning to lose her will power to fight"

Starscream approached her,

"Show me" he growled deeply.

She shook her head vehemently. The pain in her head was unbelievable, she felt like it was being split in two with an axe and her nose was bleeding but she wasn't going to give them anything.

"Can't" she whispered shaking violently from pain and shock.

Starscream undid the straps and took her off the table yanking the probe out from her nose in the process. It tore at the inside of her nose, causing further damage and her nose started to bleed profusely and swell. He held her in his fist and shook her ferociously. Lou could feel muscle and bone giving way as he shook her, she feel herself passing out. "_Good I shall take away the pleasure of them killing me by dying_" she was then laid on a table as Starscream held her feet together,

"Tell me about the weapon or I shall break your body slowly and painfully"

Lou turned to glare at him, then slowly turned her head away. She could vaguely make out Mick who looked at her with tears streaming down his face as the light faded into blackness. She was gone!

"Noooo!" Mick screamed, he turned to Starscream and growled,

"You have killed her. You killed my wife!" Mick screamed between the sobs and tears.

Starscream looked at him and laughed as he turned to Lou. He run a scan on her,

"Take her back to her cell. We will give her body to the Autobots." he turned to Mick, "And you!" he snarled, "You killed her. All you had to do was what we asked but you didn't

* * *

The Mechs were exhausted from the digging but had finally manged to reach Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Bee was unconscious from loss of energon. His arm was partially severed from a sharp piece of wreckage, cutting fuel lines. Four mechs gently held onto him and eased him out of the wreckage as the humans backed away,

"Easy! Gently" soothed Ratchet, finally Bee was free.

Ratchet and First Aid immediately went to work on stabilising Bee before they took him to the med bay. Thankfully the injury to his arm was the only severe one. Most of it was minor injuries and a gash to his helm. Prime had taken worse injuries; he moved to protect Bee. He too was unconscious with damage done to his chassis, head and limbs, but upon scanning him, Ratchet discovered his life signs were stable,

"First Aid we need to get these two to the med bay quickly" he ordered.

Both First Aid and Ratchet transformed and allowed other Mechs to load them into their backs, they then took off toward the Medbay where Wheeljack was waiting for them. He was hunched over a berth, unable to stand up straight due to pain and injury,

"I'm here to help!" he said

"Get back on your berth! You are no good to me in the state you are in. You need to let yourself heal and get rest." Ratchet barked.

Wheeljack went to argue but Ratchet started to move toward him dangerously with a wrench raised above his head which he'd produced from his subspace,

"Now get back on your berth!" Ratchet ordered, Wheeljack slowly hobbled to his berth followed by First Aid who helped the inventer up and made him comfortable.


	12. Chapter 12

Transformers don't belong to me, only Dark Orbit, Clash, Marianne, Anna, Ebony, Mick and Lou belong to me.

* * *

Chapter 12

Prison of despair.

Mick couldn't believe the cruelty of these alien beings, sure he had beatings and punishment but he didn't think they would go to lengths of cruelty they did with Lou. Half of him was guilt ridden, how could he have been so stupid? Why didn't he listen to his wife in the first place? Then the other half would go over the horror of what he saw and he would blame his wife; she was just too stubborn. She should have given Starscream what he wanted, she shouldn't have been so difficult or uncooperative with the decepticons. He had tried to warn her about them, she didn't listen! What he failed to see was that her tenacity probably saved him, his wife, children and definitely the Autobots. He sat in his cell trying to convince himself that this is her fault but when the reality of the situation sank in, it always came back to it being_ his_ fault. Now here he was in a decepticon cell with no idea on the state of his wife; was she dead or alive? What about the children, where are they and who has them? What if something happens to him? What will become of his wife and children?

Lou started to come out of unconsciousness, Mick heard her moaning in the cell next to him. He jumped up and ran as close to the bars as he could before they started to trigger palpitations in his heart from the huge electric current running through them,

"Lou, is that you? Are you okay? Lou, speak to me. Please Lou sp-ea-eakkk to meeee" he cried but there was no answer.

He couldn't cope with this anymore, he couldn't bear the thought of his wife dying alone in the cell next to him and being unable to do anything about it. He turned to the wall and leant against it, resting his head on his arms which were folded on the wall and cried helplessly,

"I'msosorryI'msosorryI'msosorry"

Lou groaned as she moved her head, her nose felt swollen and she was sore all over. She could feel every muscle and the pain in her head and legs were indescribable. To move only exacerbated the pain, and she was still losing blood from the wounds inflicted on her by Barricade. Lou could hear Mick next door crying, she wanted to call out to him, to let him know she was still alive, but it was all she could do to breathe every breath. Lou lay on the floor whimpering and moaning, hoping that the Autobots would come and get her, frightened that she would never be able to see her children again. Right now though it all looked hopeless!

Heavy footsteps could be heard coming through the brig, Lou stopped moaning and pretended to be unconscious. The decepticon stopped at her cell and smirked darkly, before prodding her, she didn't move or respond in any way. The injured woman lay there with her eyes open wishing, praying the mech would finally leave. She heard Mick shuffling in the next cell, he could see the shadow of a mech resembling Rumble,

"Leave her alone!" he bellowed,

"Aww! What's the matter? Trying to protect your wife" the lavender mech jeered, "Well don't bother, she's dead!" and laughed as he left.

Lou heaved a sigh of relief as she heard the footsteps and the laughter fading,

"Help me!" she cried weakly to no one in particular but hoping somebody, a friend was there to hear her.

* * *

Mirage had returned back to the autobot base and given Jazz the information they needed to perform a rescue. Jazz was grateful to have Mirage as part of the Autobot team, he was an asset as far as Jazz was concerned and would make sure he was part of his team in the rescue of Lou and her husband. Prowl and Jazz had worked out a plan, they couldn't take it to Optimus Prime because he was still in stasis lock and Ratchet had made it quite clear he wouldn't be out for a while because of his injuries. Prowl and Jazz had to work on their own initiative, this is why they were the 2 and 3IC's, they worked well together and together they formulated a solid plan.

Ratchet liked the feisty female and had told Prowl and Jazz he would be going on the rescue mission, First Aid made it clear he'd be going too. Ironhide wanted to be on the rescue mission, even though he knew that not going was never in the equation, so did Clash but was quickly informed by Ratchet that he was being a glitch by even suggesting he was going. Ratchet quickly told him that if he even tries to go he would be placed in stasis lock and tied to the berth, but it didn't stop Clash from being persistant…he was Lou's guardian!

Prime and Bumblebee were both still in the med bay. They had both been in stasis lock for a long time and Ratchet was happy with the steady progress his leader and the yellow scout were making. Ratchet slowly brought them out of stasis lock without their pain receptors on so that they weren't in any pain as they came back online. Prime' s optic shutters opened and his optics shined brightly, he tried to sit up but Ratchet gently pushed him back down with strict instructions to rest and take it easy; his injuries were still healing. Optimus Prime groaned and lay back down on the berth, he looked around the med bay there still injured mechs who were now in recharge, some were going to take a while to heal. He could hear quiet voices talking in the background. it sounded like Jazz, Prowl and Wheeljack talking about the new weapon Wheeljack had invented. The saboteur wondered how the decepticons managed to find out about it. Prowl mentioned about the attempted hack but both decided it wasn't that; Red Alert had managed to stop whoever it was,

"I remember when Perceptor was talking about it before we met Lou. There was a disturbance in my lab and some of my things were knocked off the shelf. Nobody appeared to be around" Wheeljack said.

Then the realisation of who was in the lab hit all three mechs at once,

"Dark Orbit!" they growled.

Ratchet walked up to Jazz and Prowl,

"That's enough now" he said, "Wheeljack is getting tired, he needs to rest"

The two mechs got up and started to leave, Jazz turned around,

"Could we use your weapon during the rescue?" he asked,

"No" Wheeljack murmured sleepily, "It is still in the experimental stages"

Jazz and Prowl looked at each other then at Wheeljack who was now back in recharge, they both shuddered at the thought of the decepticons getting hold of it. It then became a general consensus that the weapon was safer where it was.

Optimus Prime hadn't been out of stasis lock for long when he heard Clash calling him,

"Prime we have to help Lou" he whispered hoping the neon green medic wouldn't hear him. No such luck!

"**We shall Clash**" Prime answered through his comm link.

Ratchet was now fuming at the midnight blue mech, he turned towards Clash his blue optics burning a hole in him, "_Ah oh!_" Clash thought, he knew he had now pushed the medic too far and he was going to face the consequences. Ratchet move dangerously toward him with a needle,

"Clash I warned you but you didn't listen now I have to put you into stasis lock" he said as he inserted the needle into the back of the mech's neck.

Clash could hear his systems slowing down and his body was beginning to feel heavy,

"But" Clash tried to argue feebly as the medication started to take effect,

"Shut up!!" Ratchet yelled. " You do not hassle _my _patients when they are just out of stasis lock, you leave them alone."

That was the last Clash heard from the grumpy medic as his optic shutters closed. Ratchet turned his attention back to Prime,

"Prime I would prefer it if you didn't go either. You are still healing and weak" Ratchet said to his leader respectfully but firmly, "You too Bumblebee!"

"But what about Sam and Mikaela!" Bumblebee started to whine,

"If necessary we will bring them to the base, you too will be on light duties for a while."

Bumblebee lay on his berth grateful to Ratchet for saving his life even though he didn't want to be apart from Sam much longer. He missed the young teenager when he hadn't seen him for a long time; he knew that to disobey Ratchet was not the best thing to do so he lay there obediently. Bee held out his yellow hand to Ratchet and grabbed the medic's arm as he left the side of Bee's berth,

"Thank you" he whispered.

Ratchet was good at his work, and he knew it. Everybody knew he could work miracles but if anyone said that to him he'd simply shrug and say.

"I'm just doing my job" but Ratchet did appreciate a Mech's gratitude when he gave it.

The medic didn't mean to be obnoxious at times, it's just that he'd lost many friends in the war and didn't want to lose any more; even though he knew many more would fall in future battles. Most Autobots knew that as long as their were decepticons there would always be a war, they had accepted this a long time ago; it saddened them greatly that their war had been brought to a beautiful planet such as earth. Optimus Prime had found many friends on earth, he didn't want the planet to meet the same fate as their home, Cybertron which had been devastated a long time ago.

* * *

Starscream was pleased when he heard about the demise of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. He knew that the Autobots would be coming for Lou soon and believed that right now they were mourning the death of Prime and Bee. He was so sure of this that when Soundwave suggested sending Laserbeak to spy on the Autobots he declined it saying it wasn't necessary. He was looking forward to seeing the look on the Autobot's faces when the decepticons would hand over the dead body of the female, although it angered him that she appeared to be still alive. He thought that maybe she was faking being unconscious but Starscream didn't know enough about the human body to be sure of that fact; so he settled for the knowledge that she was only just hanging on, and convinced himself that by the time the Autobots did come she would be dead.

The decepticons spent most evenings in the rec room celebrating the death of Optimus Prime while others worked out a plan of attack to steal the weapon and kill off the remaining Autobots while they were in their state of grief. The decepticons believed that this would be an easy task, all they had to do was wait for those mechs who were still in the med bay healing. What they weren't considering was the experienced medic who had worked through the night with his assistant to keep Prime and Bee alive. They weren't considering the resilience of the Autobots who would still be able to rescue a human despite their leader being injured and not on the mission.

Lou lay in her cell, she was weak, dehydrated and losing hope that the Autobots would be able to rescue her. She was convinced that Prime and Bee were dead, slowly her eyes closed as she drifted off into a fitful sleep. Every time her eyes closed she could see the entrance to the base falling on top of Prime and Bee and heard the raucous, victorious laugh of Thundercracker. She didn't want to go to sleep through fear of having another nightmare but her body was not responding to her mind and once again she drifted off. She dreamed a dream so horrific that she felt sick to the core,

"_Well Lou it would appear that you're not dead after all." Starscream smirked, "Do you know what that means? You can tell us where the weapon is." _

_Starscream circled Lou menacingly, she stood in the med bay trembling as she looked around the various tools of torture that were lined out in preparation. Starscream looked in the direction she was looking at,_

"_Oh these are not for you. They are for your children, we have them here. Dark Orbit went to get them, they're with their father now saying goodbye" he whispered in her ear, _

_Lou turned around and stared in horror at the seeker,_

"_No, no you can't! you wouldn't, they're only children. Don't take them they're so young and innocent, take me instead."_

"_We tried that Lou but you're still alive." _

_The doors to the med bay opened and Marianne and Anna were pushed in. They looked at Lou, _

"_Mummy!" Anna screamed,_

"_Mum" Marianne was distraught at the sight of her mother, "What have they done to you?"_

_Starscream chuckled and turned to Lou,_

"_All you have to do is tell us where the weapon is?"_

"_Don't do it mum, don't" _

_Marianne continued to plead desperately with her mum to not give the whereabouts of the weapon. __Lou looked at her children, what was she supposed to do? If she didn't say anything then her children would die, if she did then her friends would die. Lou was defeated, she nodded slowly,_

"_It's in the vault under the base."_

"_Mum noooooo!" Marianne screamed and collapsed on the floor while Starscream laughed hysterically,_

"_Get rid of them_ _" Starscream snarled._

_Lou and her two distraught children were taken back to Lou's cell. Her frightened children clung to her sobbing as they sought comfort from their mother._

_The second part of the dream brought Lou to a point of such despair, making it look easier for her to just give up._

_Lou walked around the empty, charred base. Lennox and his family were there, so were Sam and Mikaela and Sam's parents, crying as they walked through the charred remains. She could just make out the bodies of her friends Ratchet, Ironhide, Jazz were there, all dead! She saw Clash and Bluestreak, their bodies charred laying in a pool of dried energon. Lou collapsed on her knees and wept bitterly,_

"_I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"_

_A large, blue hand rested upon her shoulder, it was Optimus Prime. She looked into his optics, there was sadness and despair. He had lost the war and his comrades,_

"_You did what you had to!" were the last words the leader spoke to Lou before he fell and died._

Lou awoke and gasped, her eyes focused and she found herself still in the cell. She was relieved to be able to feel the cold, hard floor under her fingers and hear the familiar hum of the energon bars. For that she was grateful, what she wasn't sure of was whether or not she had a dream or it was real. Suddenly a loud boom rocked the base.

* * *

Prowl and Jazz now had a plan together to rescue Lou, they then went to Optimus Prime to talk about it. They had decided the best place for Marianne and Anna would be at the Witwicky's or Lennoxes so that they were safe during the rescue. It was a precautionary measure in case they were being watched and Decepticons took the opportunity to take the girls from the base while they were rescuing their mother and father.

Marianne wanted to go to the Witwicky's because Sam and Mikaela were there but she didn't want to be separated from Anna, the Witwickys agreed to have both the girls. Optimus thought that was a good idea as Will and his team would be involved in this too. The leader was very grateful for the extra help and weapon power, his mechs would need all the help they could get with so many of them still in the med bay.

Clash was still complaining that he couldn't go. Ratchet was getting quite exasperated; he walked up to Clash,

"Shut up Clash, You are not going and that's final. Anymore about this and I will put you into stasis again. Am. I. clear!"

Clash nodded,

"Good! Now I'm going to get some energon"

Ratchet left the med bay and walked into Sunny accidentally,

"Woah! Ratchet." Sunstreaker said annoyed.

The yellow twin noticed the medic's thunderous expression, Y'alright Doc?" he asked.

"Do I look it?" Ratchet snapped back.

"Easy there Ratchet, what's got under your armour?"

"Sunstreaker that is no way to speak to me." the medic yelled

"Oh sorry!" Sunny huffed, "You wanna look where you're going in future, not many mechs appreciate you walking into them then having a go at them about it."

"Huh!" Ratchet snapped then stormed off to the rec room.

He took a cube of energon and sat in a huge chair. It was quiet! The medic sat down and enjoyed the quietness of the rec room. It was nice to have a break from the med bay, it was nice to just sit and be…Ratchet! Not Ratchet the medic or Ratchet the _hatchet!_ He cringed at the nickname he'd earned over the megacycles.

Feeling sufficiently calm the medic got up and started to make his way back to the med bay. When he got there he found Sunny sitting with Clash,

"You can't go and rescue Lou with us because you're too weak. Stay here and wait for us to come back with her, and don't annoy Ratchet about it anymore. Or we'll all suffer!"

To say that Ratchet was really surprised by Sunny's actions was an understatement, usually being near Sunny meant you were the victim of his pranks or he'd done something to himself due to his own stupidity. Ratchet walked up to the berth,

"We can't rescue Lou and keep an eye out for you at the same time and the decepticons will pick on you first. You know what they're like!" Sunny continued.

"I'll second that" Jazz replied as he walked in to see how Clash was. He placed his hand on the mech's shoulder,

"I will find Lou for you Clash, Lou and the children are special to us all. They need their mother back and we don't need to take anybody who's injured. There will be enough for us to…"

"Yeah okay I get the message. I'm not going" Clash replied.

Ratchet put a hand on the front line warriors shoulder,

"Time for you to rest now" he said calmly

Clash lay back down as Ratchet turned to Jazz and Sunny,

"Good work!" he said to them both quietly, they nodded.

That was the closest to a thank you from Ratchet anybody had ever got. Ratchet turned around and made sure Clash was comfortable before going back to Wheeljack to do a final check on the mech before releasing him. Ratchet had instructed him to be on light duties but knew the stubborn mech would want to got on the rescue mission. He had some unfinished business!

* * *

Everybody Mech and soldier alike sat in the ops room. Will briefed his soldiers as they prepared to go to the Decepticon base.

"Remember" he said "Our main aim is the element of surprise; we don't know if they're expecting us or not. Our main mission is to get Mick and Lou out." He looked at Epps. "Those of you going with Epps will be supporting Ratchet's team as they make their way to the brig, those of you with me will be supporting Prowl's team. Nobody goes until we have the all clear from Jazz. Am I clear"

"Yes sir" the soldiers replied.

"Does everybody understand what they are doing?" Prowl asked.

"Yes Prowl" The Autobots answered.

"Let's go!" Prowl said darkly.

They transformed and drove out into the night leaving Prime, Bumblebee, Bluestreak, Clash and Perceptor at the base. They drove through the desert until they got to the coordinates where the first group led by Prowl were going to lead the assault. Ironhide, Hound, Prowl, Wheeljack and Lennox's team team were going to attack the Decepticon base first, and cause a distraction while Mirage, Ratchet, First Aid, Sunny, Sides and Hot rod rescued Lou and Mick. They would hang back and wait for the all clear.

As they approached the Autobots transformed, got into position and waited for Jazz to give the all clear. Prowl couldn't help but notice how a calm was surrounding the Decepticon base. There was no noise just a peacefulness that one would expect from the middle of the night. Jazz silently ran up to the entrance of the base, he was surprised to see no one was guarding it, "_Very cocky_" he thought to himself. He too noticed how peaceful it was around the base, the silver saboteur didn't like it! Jazz became very cautious as he approached the entrance of the base, he'd seen this before, the Decepticons used this strategy to draw their enemy into an ambush, defeating them before they can achieve their objective. Jazz was relieved when he could see no sign of any Decepticon hiding, he called Prowl on his comm link.

Prowl raised his arm and made a gesture to instruct all involved to move, Autobot and human entered the base quietly and fired at any Decepticon they found. The sirens went off and Decepticon mechs were running around everywhere, scrambling for weapons and trying to stop the Autobots from getting any further but it was too late. There was chaos in the Decepticon base...absolute chaos! There was nothing the Decepticons could do to stop them, the Autobots had the upper hand. Decepticons were falling everywhere, as the Autobots advanced further into the base, being careful not to be too careless because their mission was easier than anticipated. Prowl called for the second wave to enter the base, Ratchet and the others raced in, avoiding any shots fired at them from confused or dazed Decepticons.

Starscream was in his office when he heard the sirens go off,

"What's going on?" Starscream yelled to himself before leaving the office to see what was happening,

He ran out to find himself face to face with Ironhide, who fired at him, hitting him in the chest. Starscream fell backwards as he heard a roar of engines, it was the second group come to get Lou and Mick. He tried to get up but Hot Rod and Ironhide stood over him with their weapons aimed at him, Prowl's aimed at his head. Lennoxes team were facing outward to deter any Decepticon who may try to rescue Starscream,

"No!" he gasped in disbelief

"You will let them through" Ironhide growled fiercely, pushing down on Starscream with his cannon as he struggled to get up

Sunny and Sides transformed and immediately threw themselves into the battle clearing the way for Ratchet, Jazz, Mirage and First Aid; with Lennox's team following them. As they kept going through the base more Mechs arrived to fight them, but it was to no avail. The Autobots had the element of surprise which gave them the upper hand in this battle. They got to the brig where Lou and her husband were; Jazz, Sideswipe and Mirage broke away from the rest of them who stood by the entrance to the brig to stop any decepticons who would try to stop the rescue. Ratchet suddenly found himself face to face with Ravage; the robotic panther crouched his tail flicking and snarling. Ratchet brought out his buzz saw as the panther brought out his rifle, he pounced at Ratchet but there was a huge crack and the black panther fell to the ground. Ratchet turned around to see who shot the feline and found Hot Rod standing nearby, his cannon still smoking. The neon medic nodded and carried on in the same direction as Jazz, Mirage and Sides,

"Lou! Lou, you hear me?" Jazz yelled, but there was not a sound,

"Lou, it's Jazz. Where are you babe?"

Lou lay on the floor in her cell, she could hear the familiar sound of someone's voice calling her and stirred. Slowly she lifted her head but it felt too heavy and painful as she tried to lift her shoulders off the ground. Lou was unable to hold her head up anymore; she let it fall to the ground and yelped as her head hit the hard metal floor,

"Hel-help me!" she cried, "Please… help… me!"

The lonely, scared woman closed her eyes and started to drift off into the blackness of unconsciousness again; her eyes quickly opened when once again she heard the voice calling her, beckoning her to not give up. Lou recognised the voice as Jazz, but wasn't sure if it was him; the dream was still too fresh in her mind,

"Lou!"

"Jazz" She whimpered,

"Lou, where are you baby. Keep talking to me honey so I can find you"

"Jazz, Jazz h-help m-me. Jazz. Ja..zz" her voice trailed off as she started to faze out,

Mick heard the commotion and looked up to see mech's racing to the cell next to him. He recognised one of them as the blue and white mech who originally came to see him. He got up and moved toward the energon bars to see what was going on,

Jazz heard her and turned around quickly, he was greeted with a sight he didn't want to see. She was laying with her back to him with her clothes blood stained, her curly blond hair was matted and spread out around her, it was red in some places from blood stains, "_Oh no_!" he thought to himself. He took out his gun and shot the panel controlling the bars. The panel buzzed as sparks arced around the buttons then it died bringing down the energon bars. He raced into the cell closely followed by Sideswipe and Mirage; the three mechs were horrified with her injuries and amazed she was still alive. Jazz laid a clawed hand on her, she felt cold and was shivering, "_Lou what have they done to you baby?" _the silver mech thought desperately. Lou tried to sit up, Jazz gently picked her up trying not to move her too much,

"Lou's it's alright babe, it's me, Jazz with Sideswipe and Mirage. Hold on honey, don't try and move, help is coming!" then he opened his private comm link to the medic,

"**Ratchet I've found her but she's in a bad way**"

The medic heard a desperation in Jazz's voice he'd never heard before, and worried about what state Lou was in. He raced up to Jazz and saw Lou laying in his hand, just by looking at her Ratchet could tell Soundwave had used his notorious mind probe on the woman.

"Lou, it's me Ratchet. We're going to get you out of here. Just hold on for me." The CMO turned to First Aid, "Have you got a blanket?"

First Aid immediately pulled a blanket out from his subspace and gave it to Ratchet. Ratchet laid the blanket on the floor over Lou,

"R-Ratchet, it's too painful, help me. I can't take the pain. H-help…me" her voice drifted off again. Her eyes then snapped open, she slowly turned and looked at the neon green medic standing next to Jazz and the silver mech holding her and started to sob,

"You' you're alive?" she whispered,

"Yes we are baby" Jazz replied as he stroked her head,

"Where's my children?"

"They are safe with Sam's family Lou. Don't worry everything is okay" Jazz reassured Lou.

Ratchet couldn't believe she was still alive. Lou shut her eyes as she became engulfed by relief that she had had a dream and not betrayed the Autobots or her new human friends. Slowly she started to sink back into unconciousness,

"Lou, no Lou don't do this to me. Lou!" Ratchet yelled as he shook her gently. Her eyes opened to little slits then closed again. Ratchet scanned her, her heart beat was shallow and rapid and her breathing was laboured. He looked to First Aid,

"We need to get her medical attention quickly before she dies, we'll take her to the military hospital connected to the base, she'll be safer there and it's quicker to get to."

He gently picked up Lou's broken body from Jazz, she howled as he moved her around to wrap her in the blanket,

"Shh little one I'll give you something for the pain shortly just hold on" he gently told her, relieved to hear her respond to the movement.

First Aid and Sunstreaker released Mick, he jumped up and ran out of his cell. No way was he going to let these huge beings take away his beloved Lou, he'd already nearly lost her once he wasn't going to lose her again. He started to scream at the medic and Sunstreaker who had picked him up before he ended up in decepticon hands again. Lou heard Mick screaming,

"Let me go, put her down, she's my wife, leave her alone" Lou tried to talk to him but she couldn't make herself heard. Then Ratchet spoke,

"Shut up you fool, we're trying to rescue you, but you keep yelling at us. We can leave you here if that's what you want but Lou comes with us." he stated firmly, glaring at Mick. Mick looked toward Ratchet, his blue eyes were glaring at the human, Mick gave up and stayed quiet. Ratchet held Lou close to his chest protectively; she felt the movement and tried to adjust herself so she was comfortable but whichever way she tried the pain would not ease.

Mirage ran on ahead; his cloaking mechanism activated with Jazz, Sunny and Sides flanking Ratchet and First Aid, shooting at anything that moved in the shadows. Mirage caught Dark Orbit and Rumble heading towards Ironhide's group. He attacked them from behind and fought them with the help of Wheeljack, piercing Dark Orbit's spark chamber which sparked and fizzed as he fell; optics became dim and energon poured out into a pink fizzing puddle. The Autobots ran through the base, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl and the humans bringing up the rear firing shots at Mechs who tried to stop them.

They finally made it outside; Lou could feel the cool air and appreciated the freshness of it after the stench of burning energon, oil and smoke; and the noise of screaming mechs. Ratchet gave Lou a needle to kill the pain then handed her back to Jazz so he could attend to those Mechs most seriously injured, Once the medic was satisfied that most were not as serious as they looked and were able to transform and drive back to the Autobot base he then transformed. All the while this was going on Mick sat in Sunstreaker's hand glaring at the neon green medic. Ratchet knew Lou's husband was glaring at him but chose not to do or say anything at this point, he was livid with the human for yelling at them when the Autobots were trying to rescue him, not to mention all the trouble he caused his family. It was very tempting to suggest leaving the human to face his consequences at the decepticon base but Ratchet knew he would have to face Prime when they returned back to the Autobot base.

Lou was placed in the back of Ratchet on a gurney connected to a machine so he could keep an eye on her. Lennox radioed ahead to the military hospital to let them know Lou and Mick were coming in. Lou kept drifting in and out of consciousness as Ratchet drove to the hospital quickly, sirens blaring. At one stage Lou was sure there was a human figure sitting next to her, he was quite tall with short brown hair and blue eyes. Every now and then she could feel a vibration moving down her body and the man would open her eys and shine a light in them to check her pupils,

"I'm still here" she groaned sleepily, "Don't leave me" she whispered to him,

"It's okay, I'll be with you for as long as I can" the man replied as he stroked her cheek.

When Ratchet and First Aid arrived with the two humans they were greeted by a doctor and a nurse, they took Lou out and rushed her into the operating theatre which was already prepared for the injured woman, while another doctor and nurse took Mick into triage. Ratchet accompanied Lou as far as the corridor leading to the operating room, he then returned to the base where he could take care of the injured mechs.

* * *

It had been two hours since Mick had left Triage, his wounds were treated and he was connected to an IV for various medical treatments. It was quiet in his room but he couldn't sleep, all he could think about was how Lou was, if she was out of the operating room and how he was going to restore his relationship with the woman. A nurse came to his room to check he was comfortable and offer him sleeping tablets but he refused them. Mick asked how Lou was and if he could see her, the nurse replied that she'd need to find out for him before he could leave his room. She warned him that Lou was seriously injured and it could be a while before she was out of theatre.

The nurse left the room and went back to her station, a man approached the desk,

"Excuse me. Could you tell me where Lou is?"

The nurse looked at him, and blushed, he was rather good looking

"Who are you?" she asked,

"I'm a friend of hers, she knows me very well." the man replied.

At that moment Lennox walked up to the station and looked at the man, then the nurse,

"Don't worry about him, he's a very close friend of Lou's. No doubt he's given the medic a hard time" Lennox said with a smile. He knew who the man was and wasn't surprised he would be here, especially as he couldn't go on the rescue mission.

"Isn't that right Clash?" Clash glared at Lennox, then smiled as Lennox stood there chuckling at the holoform,

The nurse smiled, unaware of the joke going on between them

"Sure" she replied, I'll take you to her room. I don't think she's back yet she has had some serious injuries. I'll just phone through to find out."

The nurse got on the phone while Lennox turned to Clash and talked with him,

"No she's not out of theatre yet they're just finishing off, everything has gone well. I'll take you to her room, it will be about an hour before she arrives but it will be nice for her to have a friend there after all she's been through." "_You've got no idea what she's been through_" Clash thought as he followed the nurse to the room where Lou would be taken too.

"Here you are" she said then left the room. Clash sat in the chair in the corner waiting patiently for his charge and friend to return. He closed his crystal blue eyes and went into a light recharge so he'd have plenty of energy when she arrived.

* * *

That's chapter 12. Not too happy about it. Enjoy anyway!


	13. Chapter 13

Transformers are not mine, except Dark Orbit, Clash, Marianne, Lou, Anna, Mick, Ebony and a new character Lucy.

No women, no cry belongs to Bob Marley.

This was a difficult chapter to write but I finally got there. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter 13

Broken trust

Clash sat in Lou's room patiently waiting for his charge to arrive, he looked around at the various monitors and machines; some of them were very similar to those Ratchet used in his med bay and wondered if they were there for Lou. The room was quiet with two windows, one was an observation window but the other one looked out onto Tranquility which was shimmering in the blistering heat. It was a bright sunny day with the odd cloud casting its shadow over the buildings and streets. The mountains in the background were a distant shadow on the horizon. Inside the room was pleasantly cool, the cream walls giving a peaceful feeling about the room. The bed was neat with the covers drawn back waiting for Lou to be placed on the bed which looked hard and uncomfortable; there was also a plaque above the bed with Lou's name on it. Next to her bed was a dry, clean glass and a jug full of water. The door which was brown was pulled to allowing the sounds of the ward to filter in. Although Lou had been out of theatre for a while she hadn't left the recovery room, the nursing staff felt it was best to keep her down there a bit longer because they nearly lost her a couple of times. Lou arrived in her room but nothing could prepare Clash for the state of her; her hair was still blood stained and matted and her face was swollen, bruised and covered in cuts some of which had stitches, her leg and arm were in plaster, the other arm was attached to an IV which was allowing vital lifesaving fluids and blood to enter her body. Clash felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked around and found Ratchet standing next to him in his holoform, offering Clash comfort. Clash looked at his charge, she was sleeping; he couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked as he gently stroked her face,

"Oh Lou, what have they done to you?" he groaned, Ratchet patted his shoulder,

**"You need to be strong for her Clash,"** he said to the young mech quietly**, "She has a long way to go"**

Once she was settled and made comfortable a lot of the staff left the room, leaving Clash and Ratchet in there with a nurse who checked her charts and made sure the drips were working properly,

"Are you a friend of hers?" the nurse asked quietly with a small smile,

"Yes we are" Clash replied,

"It's good you're here but it's going to be a long night for you, why don't you go home and get some rest. We'll ring you wh…"

"No it's okay. I'll stay here with her" Clash interjected,

"Alright" the nurse replied, "I'll come and check on her in half an hour for her half hourly observations. My name is Lucy and I am the staff nurse looking after your friend tonight"

"Nice to meet you Lucy" Clash said with a smile "What are the observations for?" he asked,

"We need to keep an eye on her because of the injuries to her face." Lucy replied, "The observations are so we can keep an eye on her in case she develops any symptoms which could mean she's developed more serious problems."

Lucy had just come on shift and was caring for Lou and Mick, although she found it hard to be impartial towards the man. Lucy had contact with the Autobots before she met Lou through the Lennoxes; she was good friends with Sarah Lennox. Lucy had proved to be very trustworthy and loyal and kept their secret very well. Every now and then the short, Irish woman with short raven black hair, sparkling blue eyes and a dry sense of humour would report to Sideswipe; who was her guardian. She didn't really want one but because Lucy was friends with Sarah Lennox and knew Ironhide, the Autobots decided it was best for her. Sometimes humans only had to know an Autobot to draw unwanted attention from a Decepticon. They all agreed that Lucy would contact Sideswipe once a day to check in with him. She had a pen on her all the time which had an emergency channel straight through to Autobot headquarters in case she should be picked up by Decepticons. So far though, she had been quite safe.

Clash pulled a chair to the side of Lou's bed and sat in it, and then he held her hand and gently stroked it. There was a gentle knock at the door. Clash looked up, he saw Jazz standing there and called him in,

"I'll go now" Ratchet said as he stood up, "Prime is coming here and I want to speak to him,"

"How is the L'il lady?" Jazz asked quietly as he walked towards her,

"She has just come out of theatre, it could be a while before she wakes up." Clash replied,

"Poor little thing!" Jazz said as he gently moved some of her curls away from her face and watched them flop onto her pillow. The silver saboteur couldn't get over the extent of Lou's injuries,

"She must have put up a huge fight" he said to Clash, "I bet she got quite sassy with them, she's not one for just lying down and taking it."

"I agree" Clash sighed sadly,

Her door opened and Ratchet walked in with Optimus Prime in their holoforms,

"How is she?" Prime asked looking at Lou. He couldn't believe the plucky little human was still alive with the amount of injuries she had. He gently took her hand that was plastered and stroked parts of her fingers that were exposed,

"She's sleeping," Clash replied,

"Good" Ratchet replied as he moved around to the other side of her bed, "She needs all the rest she can get to aid in her recovery. Don't worry Clash I'm sure it won't be too long before she's up and about. Just give her time"

"Thanks Ratchet" Clash replied sadly.

Even though the medic could get grumpy and violent, there was a tender side to the old, seasoned mech when it was really needed. Ratchet had watched Clash and Lou and seen them develop a strong freidship bond, and he was quite sure that this would only cement it further. Now was one of those times when the young warrior needed to know that he was not alone. Ratchet moved behind Clash and placed his hand upon the young mech's shoulder,

"I'm here if you want to talk Clash. My med bay door is open," Clash placed his hand over Ratchet's and for the second time that evening he thanked the CMO.

The doctor came in to check on Lou and her charts, he smiled at the three mechs, unaware of who or what they really were,

"I take it you're all friends of hers" he asked politely,

"Yes we are" Optimus Prime replied,

"She is a strong woman, there were a couple of times when we thought we'd lose her on the table but she pulled through. Lucy is looking after her so she will be in good hands,"

"What about her other injuries?" Ratchet asked,

"Well we have had to use a lot of pins and screws to get her legs back together. Her shoulders will also take a little while to heal; there was a lot of tissue and bone damage and she lost a lot of blood. Unfortunately she has a long road to recovery. Her blood pressure is a little high as well, most likely from the all the stress she's been under. When she does wake up we will need to keep her as calm as possible. I am actually thinking about keeping her sedated for the first couple of days so she can adjust more easily. I really hope that they get these guys who did this to her,"

Most people on the ward knew that Lou had been attacked but they didn't know by who or what. The doctor knew of the Autobots but had never met them up until then. Sometimes he thought it would be good to meet them but then he would wonder about the consequences of that and what effect it would have on his family. After seeing Lou in the state she was in he decided the less he knew about them the better it would be for himself and his family.

"Oh they will!" Ratchet reassured the doctor, "Lou is a good friend of ours we will aid her in her recovery"

"Good! She's a lucky woman to have so many friends around her" the doctor replied while looking at his patient's charts,

"What about her husband?" Ratchet asked,

"He is going to be okay, he is malnourished and dehydrated but he has no major injuries that we can see. He has had a few injuries and he has scars from those injuries but I'm sure they'll fade over time. Look I know he got involved with the Decepticons he told me so. It is beyond my ability to understand how he could have become involved with them without understanding what or who they were."

"The Decepticons are very good at not showing their true identity until they have what they want. He is very lucky because normally they would have disposed of him by now. We would like you to hold onto him because he needs to answer a few questions from the Autobots. I have a feeling this isn't over yet, please be on your guard, we would also like you to sign a form to say you'd keep everything you've seen with this lady a secret." Optimus Prime produced a form and handed it to the doctor who took out his pen and signed it,

"Those personnel who know about the Decepticons and know what happened to these two have been briefed and were told to be prepared for anything which may happen." The doctor replied as he handed the paper back to Prime, he had no intention of telling anybody; he didn't want the Decepticons to reign terror upon his hospital or patients.

"I'm going to go and see her husband" Prime growled as he walked out, "I'll call back in before I leave."

* * *

Mick was sitting in his room quietly reflecting on how he had ended up with the Decepticons and the effect it had on his wife and family. He had lost everything including Lou's trust and maybe he had even lost the marriage. He hadn't seen her attack him the way she did when they met in the Decepticon base and it shook him, everytime he thought about it he could hear a voice in his head say, _"It serves you right_!". He had no idea how he was going to make amends with his wife or how he was going to replace what they had taken from him. He didn't have a job to go to anymore, he left that to work with the malevolent monsters. Mick sat in his bed sadly contemplating what his future would hold and how he would pick up the pieces and start again when he heard a knock at the door. He looked up at the door,

"Come in" he called sadly.

Optimus Prime looked over at Lou's husband, he was sitting in his bed with his hands clasped in his lap and his head down. Mick looked up at Optimus Prime, he was unshaven and had black rings under his eyes which stood out against his pale skin.

"I trust you are comfortable and feeling better?" Optimus Prime asked,

Mick looked at the man who had just spoken to him, he was very tall and well dressed in a pair of jeans and a red shirt. His hair was dark brown with flecks of grey and he walked and talked with an air of authority,

"Who are you?" Mick asked defensively

"My name is Optimus Prime and I am the leader of the Autobots." Optimus Prime replied confidently,

"Oh I have heard all about you" Mick snipped as he looked away,

"No doubt you have!" Prime replied firmly.

"Well, what do you want?" he asked bitterly, "I'm going to see my wife in a minute."

"Your wife is still unconscious and it could be a while before she wakes up. Her guardian is with her at the moment…" Mick snorted,

"Guardian! What does she need a guardian for, she has me?" he laughed,

"May I remind you!" Prime replied in an acid tone wiping the smile off Mick's face, "That this is no laughing matter. Your wife was in serious danger because of _your_ involvement with the Decepticons. We are not entirely convinced that the pair of you are safe yet, and that is why I'm here to _tell _you not to go too far away when you leave this hospital."

"I will go as far away as I want" Mick argued,

"If you go too far we can't guarantee your safety, and you have to answer some questions from us." Optimus Prime replied while pinching the bridge of his nose, _"This man is going to be difficult!"_ he thought to himself.

"What do you mean I have to answer some questions from you? I have done nothing wrong."

Mick was outraged who did this person think he was? First He tellls him that his wife needs a guardian, then not to go too far away and now he has to answer questions from him? "_I don't think so!"_ Mick thought as he glared into the crystal blue eyes of Optimus Prime. Prime found the man to be extremely frustrating and was struggling to not lose his temper with him, he thought it would be easier to take him straight to Autobot headquarters and kept under the watchful eye of Prowl but Mick still needed medical attention; he looked ill. He glared back at Mick making the man feel uncomfortable and squirm. Then he bent over, leaning his hands on the bed table and got right into Mick's face, staring coldly into the his eyes,

"You committed a crime against us. I believe it was you hacking into the Autobot systems am I correct?" he asked quietly, Mick didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say. Yes Optimus Prime was correct but he wasn't going to admit it, his head hang in shame.

"Am. I. Correct?" Prime growled dangerously, his bright blue eyes glared at Mick expecting an answer but it wasn't forthcoming. Finally Prime got up and looked at Mick who looked up at Prime,

"You are in very serious trouble Mr. Ferrier. You remember that, we can't guarantee your safety from the Decepticons. They may want to silence you from talking to us and they won't stop at any means," Optimus Prime turned around and left Mick's room hoping that the threat of the Decepticons would give him something to think about.

Ratchet was outside waiting to talk to his leader,

"Sir" he said, "We don't know if Mick has been planted with anything, he could be carrying a tracking device or something that is controlling his mind."

"I fear you may be right old friend although I doubt he is under Decepticon mind control. I fear for Lou, I don't like her being right next to her husband."

"No, neither do I." Ratchet replied, "I would like to see her back at the base, I could look after her just as well as the staff in the hospital. Maybe we could arrange for that," Optimus Prime smiled at his CMO, he knew Ratchet could look after Lou. He was proficient in Cybertronian medicine and was quickly learning human medicine.

* * *

Outside the hospital a robotic bird was flying around unaware that it was being watched until a shot hit him straight in his wing. He fell to the ground with a crash. Mirage walked up to the bird,

"Got you!" he said triumphantly,

He transformed and went to Autobot headquarters with Laserbeak firmly tied to the front seat. Prowl was in his office shifting through data pads when Mirage knocked on his door,

"Come in" the 2IC called,

Mirage walked into Prowl's office holding onto Laserbeak who was protesting at being caught and held by his legs. Mirage lifted him up and glared into his bright red optics,

"Shut up!" he said and shut down Laserbeak's vocal processors rendering the cassetticon mute,

"I found him circling the hospital"

Prowl looked at the Decepticon,

"This isn't going to go away that easily. Take him to First Aid to get his weapons and communications systems offlined then throw him in the brig. I'll let Prime know we have him. Well done Mirage!"

"Thank you Prowl" Mirage said as he turned to leave, "Oh and Prowl if you don't mind I'd like to stay at the hospital to protect Lou."

"That might be a good idea Mirage, who knows what the Decepticons are planning"

"Yes sir" Mirage replied.

* * *

Lou had been in the hospital for a few days now and Clash had been with her most of the time. She had been kept under sedation for the first few days to help her sleep, her experiences in the Decepticon headquarters were quite traumatic, but nobody knew how traumatised the plucky female was. If Clash had to leave her room another Autobot would relieve him just in case Lou woke up, usually Jazz or Ratchet and sometimes Mirage. Clash had to leave to start his patrol duty, it was the first one since he was injured during their desperate fight to protect Lou from the Decepticons. Sideswipe was supposed to be at the hospital but he got held up while on patrol duty following a Decepticon driving around the streets of Tranquility, he radioed Sunstreaker who said he'd get to the hospital straight away and stay until Sideswipe could get there. Clash left, resenting the fact he had to leave his charge unattended, but Prowl was keen on mechs being on time for duty. As he walked past the nurses station he let them know she was alone. Lucy informed him she'd keep an eye on Lou. His holoform walked out of the hospital and disappeared once he'd exited the car park.

After Clash left Lou woke up briefly and looked around her surroundings. She was in a quiet room but she didn't know where. It wasn't her Decepticon cell, it was clean and comfortable, and it wasn't Ratchet's med bay, it was too small and the grumpy medic wasn't there. _"Where is everybody and where am I?"_ she asked herself. Lou continued looking around the room, there was a window with the blind down cutting her off from the world, there was all number of machines and a soft glow in the room from the light left on by the last staff nurse who had checked her charts and done observations on her. She saw a tube and followed it with her eyes to find it was connected to her hand. If she had been in a normal situation she would have realised she was attached to an IV, and that would have been enough for her to know she was in a hospital, but she hadn't been through a normal situation. Lou also noticed her other arm in a cast and her leg too but she had no pain, Lou tried to sit up and get a better view of her surroundings but as she tried to use her arm to support her weight she flinched with pain and flopped back onto the pillows with a growl. Another thing she noticed was she was alone, there were no humans or Autobots in her room; there was plenty to say there had been with all the cards and flowers from well wishers but there was nobody there now. Tears pooled in her eyes as she called out quietly for Clash, but there was no answer, Ratchet, still no answer. Feeling lonely and abandoned the frightened woman closed her eyes and drifted back off to sleep, sinking deeper into a place where she felt safe. Her door opened and the holofrom of Sunstreaker walked into her room and sat down unaware of Lou's brief period when she was awake.

While Lou was sleeping her children were allowed to go and visit their father but only under strict supervision of another Autobot. He was not considered to be trustworthy enough to allow the children to stay with him alone, and Prime knew that he was being watched; the children would be a prize for the Decepticons.

Marianne woke up at her normal time and got ready for her day. The sun was shining outside and the sky was blue with a gentle breeze gently blowing to cool the already warm summer air. She was going to visit her father with Bluestreak; the teenager had made her feelings known about visiting her father but everybody insisted she should go.

When Bluestreak got to the hospital with the children Marianne flatly refused to enter his room. She stood outside with her arms firmly crossed across her chest, how was she going to get out of this? Bluestreak opened Mick's door and Anna went running up to Mick,

"Daddy!" she cried with open arms and almost leapt into his arms. Marianne stood outside his room and watched as Anna enjoyed her cuddle with him. Bluestreak saw Marianne hanging around outside and went to talk to her,

"Don't you want to spend some time with him?" he asked innocently not understanding the teenager's feelings towards her father.

"No" she snapped, "I _hate_ him." She replied venomously,

"But he's your father…" Bluestreak bent down to Marianne's level and gently held her, when he looked in her eyes they were cold and hard

"Look what he did to Mum, Bluestreak. What sort of a father would allow that to happen?" the teenager cried, as a lump formed in her throat.

Before Bluestreak could respond Marianne raced into Mick's room. She ran up to her father and slapped him hard, across the face. Mick's initial expression was one of shock, then turned into one of anger,

"Don't you dare do that to me again young lady," he had been looking forward to the visit from his children and was very disappointed with her reaction,

"Why not? That was for mum and all that you put her through. I hate you Dad, I really really hate you." Marianne screamed at her dad while tears poured down her cheeks,

"Marianne stop it, _now_. Look you're going to upset Anna," Mick's voice started to raise angrily causing the whole ward to stop it's goings on and stare for a brief minute,

"No I won't stop it Dad. How could you do this to me? You've got no idea of how disappointed I am with you. I used to think you were the greatest Dad alive but now I know you're not. You're a traitor; a mean, cold, hard, insensitive traitor."

Nothing could stop Marianne now, every word she spoke to her father made a deeper incision then the last, he was hurt by her outburst and was finding it hard to fight back the tears. Finally with a trembling voice, her arms crossed tightly in front of her she said,

"I don't know who you are; you're not my father, as far as I'm concerned he is _dead_." Marianne cried, and then she turned on her heels and run out of his room, into Lou's room, in tears,

"Marianne" Bluestreak called, but she ignored her guardian and went to Lou's bed.

She lay on it next to her mother, crying bitterly. Heartbroken that the man she'd always known as her father had ripped her life apart. Bluestreak followed Marianne into Lou's room, went up to the distraught teenager and placed his hand on her back,

"I'm not going back in Bluestreak. I don't want to see him again. Please let me stay here Bluestreak, please don't make me go back into him." She begged.

Bluestreak could see that making Marianne go back into her father was going to cause her further distress,

"Okay" the mech replied, "I'll come and get you when it is time to go home."

Marianne didn't say anything she just nodded as she lay back down and snuggled into her mother's still body. Exhausted Marianne fell asleep next to Lou comforted by the fact that she was close to her mother who she thought she would never see again. It wasn't long before the exhausted teenager fell asleep on Lou's bed. Bluestreak went back into Mick's room with Anna and sat down next to the father and daughter, watching their interaction. Mick looked at the young man who sat with them, he had no idea who this person really was and thought he could pull the wool over the mech's eyes,

"You know, you don't have to stay here." he said sarcastically,

"Yes I do" Bluestreak replied,

"Why?" Mick asked in an agitated tone, "I'm not going to run off with her,"

"I have to stay here sir. They are my orders," Bluestreak replied firmly,

"Oh and who gave you these orders eh? You turned my oldest daughter against me and now you won't allow me time with Anna,"

"Daddy it's not his fault, you went with the Decepticons. They are mean and eeeeevil, that must mean you are too." Anna said.

Mick looked at his younger daughter,

"No they're not honey," he replied gently hurt by his younger daughter's comment, "They're not evil,and neither am I. They're just not soft hearted weaklings like the Autobots…"

"Daddy that's not true, they took my mummy, hurt Ebony and my friends," she cried,

Mick looked at Bluestreak,

"And is he your friend too?"

"Yes he is. He looks after me and takes me to school and home again,"

"Oh, what about your Daddy. Can't he look after you now?" Mick crooned innocently,

"No, Daddy is friends with the Decepticons I'm scared they will come and take me away. I don't want them to hurt me Daddy." Anna cried,

"Honey they won't hurt you." Mick replied as he pushed some of Anna's hair away from her face,

"They hurt mummy" Anna replied sadly.

Mick didn't know what to say to that; it was true, they had hurt Lou and he was powerless to do anything about it...or was he? No matter what he did he couldn't escape it, the truth would always come back and stare him in the face. He knew he'd have to come to terms with the fact that this was always going to haunt him. He allowed Lou, his beloved wife to be tortured by the Decepticons for something she knew nothing about, he was offered the opportunity to escape when the blue and white mech visited him the first time, but he refused. Guilt crept into the already weeping wounds inflicted upon him by Marianne, he picked up Anna and handed her to Bluestreak,

"You have her a while I need some time," His voice was cracking as he tried to hide the emotion.

Bluestreak got up and took Anna outside, it was getting late and the children really needed to go back to the Witwickys. He went to get Marianne but when he saw her she was fast asleep next to Lou. Bluestreak gently shook Marianne to wake her up, the sleepy teenager slowly woke up and looked round to see who was shaking her,

"Hi Blue. Is it time to go?" she croaked,

"Yes sweetheart" he replied, and helped her off the bed. Marianne turned around and kissed her mum on the cheek before leaving.

Bluestreak drove the children back to the Witwickys, when they got there Sam and Mikaela were in the back garden talking and laughing quietly ,

"Hey Marianne" Mikaela called to her friend. Marianne looked up to see who just spoke to her and smiled as she walked towards the couple, "How was your visit with your father" Marianne shrugged and sighed heavily,

"That good eh?" Sam replied sympathetically,

"I'd rather not talk about it" Marianne said, "Mind if i join you?"

"Sure" they both replied, Mikaela patted the ground next to her inviting Marianne to sit down while Anna carried on into the house. Bluestreak parked next to Bumblebee for a while and chatted with the scout as only Bluestreak could...non stop!

Marianne really appreciated the support she was getting from the two teenagers. They were all sat in Sam's backyard, Sam and Mikaela were leaned up against the back of Bee and Marianne was facing them. They were talking and laughing while Anna was helping Judy with the evening meal. Marianne looked at them seriously, Bee picked up the mood in Marianne and silently scanned her,

"What's wrong Marianne?" Mikaela asked,

"I-I would really like to thank you guys for being my friend. Thanks for being there for me." she said quietly,

"That's okay Marianne" Sam replied, "We know what it is like to be thrown into the middle of an alien war. No offence Bee" Sam called to his friend,

"None taken Sam." The yellow camaro smiled,

"I don't think I could have done this alone," Marianne said in a shaky voice.

Mikaela moved next to Marianne and hugged her friend,

"The thing is Marianne you are not going through this alone. You have friends all around you, human and Autobot."

The familiar clicks and whirs were heard as Bee and Blue transformed and moved in front of Marianne. Bee stroked her cheek,

"_No woman, no cry_" sang the voice over his radio.

Marianne looked at him and smiled,

"Thanks Bee" she said and hugged the big yellow mech as best as she could. She felt Bee's hand hold her as he pulled the teenager into his chassis to hug her back.

* * *

_Lou found herself back in her house, her children were playing in the garden. They were running amongst the shrubs and trees with Ebony chasing them. The sound of their laughter was contagious and Lou couldn't help but smile as she watched them run around. Ebony enjoyed the chase as her little tail wagged merrily, her tongue lolling to one side as she panted. The children stopped running for a while, waiting for the Doberman to start the chase again, the dappled sunlight playing on their bodies. Mick was nowhere to be found. She didn't have a scratch or a dressing on her and there was nothing to suggest she'd been through any sort of torture. The sun was shining on her skin and she welcomed the warmth as she shut her eyes and lifted her face towards it. Suddenly the laughter stopped, Lou opened her eyes to find her children standing in front of her holding their arms out towards her,_

"_Mummy, come back to us. Please mummy, come back to us. We love you mummy, we need you. Please come back to us." Anna begged._

_Lou ran to her children, holding her arms out and hugged them both. They held onto her tightly enjoying the loving embrace of their mum, sobbing quietly,_

"_Lou," a gentle voice continued, "You are safe and we are fine. You can come back"_

_Lou turned around and found Optimus Prime and Bumblebee standing behind her,_

"_Come back to us Lou,"_

_Suddenly she heard Mick's voice calling the children, a spine tingling chill ran down her spine,_

"_Marianne, Anna where are you?"_

_Lou turned around and ran towards her children, she scooped them up into her arms and ran towards Prime and Bee with Mick and Barricade following close behind her… _

Lou suddenly woke up and looked frantically around the room, her heart was pounding and she was breathing rapidly. A Pair of hands rested on her,

"SShh Lou, SShh. You're okay. Sshh, hush now little one" a reassuring voice crooned.

Lou looked around the room to find where the soothing voice was coming from. As she looked around she found herself hooked up to a variety of machines and tubes. She looked around trying to work out where she was, and make sense of her confusion. She could hear the bleeps from the machines and it was quiet and warm. There were still a variety of cards from friends and colleagues as well as flowers, some of which were beginning to lose their petals. Seeing that wherever she was, she wasn't under threat, Lou started to relax and allowed the hand to hold hers, her eyes continued to move around the room and finally rested on Clash who was sitting next to her with a worried expression on his face,

"Hi" he said quietly and smiled at her as he gently brushed back her hair with his fingers, "How are you?"

"Hi" she said and smiled at the mech as best as her still swollen and bruised face would allow her,

Lucy came into her room and looked at her charts; she walked up to Lou,

"Hello sweetheart you're awake! Is there anything I can get for you? Are you in any pain?" she asked in her soft Irish accent, as she changed the bag of fluid over for Lou.

Lou grimaced and nodded, she licked her dry parched lips,

"My head is very sore" she rasped as she tried to find her voice.

"Okay I'll get you some pain killers. Would you like some ice to suck?" Lou nodded

"Okay" Lucy replied, "I shall get some pain killers for you and a cup of ice."

"Where am I?" Lou asked Clash, "And where are the children?"

"You're in the hospital connected to the Autobot base, Ratchet felt you were safer here and Captain Lennox agreed. Your children are with Sam and Mikaela, Bumblebee and Bluestreak at the moment."

Lucy returned back to Lou's room with the pain killers and the ice,

"Here you are sweetheart; your husband is next door to you. He has been asking to see you" the nurse continued, "You can see him later if you want."

"I can't trust him at the moment I just want him to leave me alone and stay away from the children. I don't want them to go through what I went through," Lou said with sadness.

"Don't worry Lou, they are not allowed out of Bluestreak's sight," Clash reassured her,

"When can I see them?" Lou asked.

The door to Lou's room opened and a middle aged doctor walked in. He looked at Lou and smiled, he had a quiet manner about him and smiled when he saw his patient finally awake, causing the lines in his skin to crease as he smiled at her. He walked towards Lou introducing himself, brought the blood pressure machine toward her, sat down and placed the cuff around her arm with the IV in it

"It's good to see you finally back with us Lou. How do you feel?" he asked her as he watched the readings to her blood pressure rise then stabilise.

The doctor grunted an affirmative when they read as being normal. He went to the bottom of her bed and checked her charts, the doctor nodded and then smiled at Lou

"My head is very sore, but okay"

"Okay" he turned to Lucy, "Has she had any pain killers?" Lucy nodded at the doctor,

"Good! I'd like her to be kept quiet for a while, her blood pressure has gone back to normal but not too many visitors, just to give her a chance to rest and continue healing. We don't want her to get too excited at the moment,"

"But I'd like to see my children," Lou protested,

"Not today, you've only just come around and you have a headache, most likely because you are still getting over the mind probe Soundwave used on you, it is necessary for you to be as calm as possible" the doctor replied.

* * *

Mick didn't really receive a friendly welcome from those who knew of the Decepticons and what they'd done to Lou. He had requested on several occasions to visit Lou but he was always told Lou didn't want to see him. He was not going to let that one go, he wanted to clear the air with his wife, he wanted to let her know how sorry he was and make amends, how could he if they wouldn't let him near her?

While Clash and Lucy were talking they didn't notice Mick sneak into Lou's room. He was determined to go and see his wife, to try and speak with her; he didn't consider what her reaction would be or her feelings. When he peeked through the window he saw Lou laying in bed, her head turned away from the door. Quietly he opened the door and crept in, it was quiet in her room, there was a light above her bed giving off a gentle glow, and the room itself had a peaceful feel to it, something which he really appreciated after busy days before all this happened.

Lou was peacefully resting. He got closer to his injured wife and ever so slowly he reached out to touch her arm completely unaware of the hologram moving up behind him. He moved a little bit closer, his fingers really close to his wife when somebody behind him cleared his throat. Mick stopped dead in his tracks dreading who would be behind him; but as far as he was concerned she was his wife and he had a right to see her, despite her wishes. He turned slowly to find himself face to face with Lou's guardian, Clash.

Lou could hear a noise so she turned around thinking only her guardian was in the room but when she did turn over she found herself face to face with Mick, she was outraged,

"Get out!" she screamed,

"No Lou, I want to speak to you," Mick insisted,

"Just. Get. Out!" she hissed through gritted teeth, "I don't want to talk to you and I do not want to listen to your excuses. Go away! Leave me alone" Lou retorted as she threw her cup of ice at the man, sending the ice skating across the floor.

Lucy raced into Lou's room, closely followed by Jazz and Ratchet who had just arrived from the base,

"Lou please, just listen to me for one minute, please just give me a minute" Mick begged his wife.

Lou turned her head away then turned it back again, her blue eyes glaring coldly at her husband she used to love,

"Listen to you begging me to listen to you." She snarled darkly, "Why didn't you beg them to stop hurting me? Why did you let them go ahead with this? How could you watch me suffer? Look at me Mick. Look at what they've done to me." Lou pointed to her injured body, "I am like this because of you and your stubbornness,"

"Lou I'm sorry, I tried" he cried, Lou looked at her husband in disbelief,

"Sorry!" she said slowly as she shut her eyes and tried to contain her anger towards her husband; she then opened them again and turned towards him, "Is that all you can say? I'm sorry, I tried. Well, let me tell you something mister, you didn't try hard enough! Now get out and don't you dare come near me again." Lou yelled as she threw her cup of ice at the man, sending the ice cubes skating across the floor.

Tears were starting to pool in the corner of her eyes as she remembered the terrifying ordeal in the Decepticon heaquarters, her voice quivered,

"Not only that! You wanted me to betray the Autobots and now... you come into my room... and you apologise. What do you want me to do? Turn around and say that's alright darling. We can pick up the pieces and start again? Well let me tell you this, it. Won't. Happen! You're not the same person any more and neither am I" she cried as the tears rolled down her face. Mick stood in front of her, shocked and speechless. He didn't know what to do or say to her anymore and came to the sad realisation that she really didn't want to see him.

Jazz glared at the man who was in Lou's room, he knew that they'd try to convince her to betray them and he knew the consequences of not betraying them, but this man was her husband, he should have stood up for her. Decepticon! Ratchet decided. To be treated with the utmost caution!

Mick went to take a step towards his angry wife but was grabbed around the waist firmly. A gruff voice spoke to him angrily,

"You heard her. Leave!" Mick tried to turn around to see the owner of the voice but he was held firmly in the grip of the mech

"No I won't leave not until she has listened to me." Mick replied angrily,

"Go away!" Lou hissed between gritted teeth,

Sir I want you to leave!" Lucy said to Mick firmly, "You are causing your wife to become distressed. She needs to be kept as calm as possible at the moment."

"No I'm not leaving until she has listened to me" Mick growled as he fought agains Clash,

"Sir if you don't leave I shall be forced to call security" the nurse warned.

The nurse didn't have to call security; all of a sudden Ratchet got up and grabbed Mick by the collar,

"You were asked to leave" he growled dangerously as he opened the door and marched Mick back to his room,

"All I want to do is talk to her. Why can't I talk to her?" he demanded,

"She doesn't want to see you." Ratchet replied,

"She's my _wife_. I have a right to _see_ _my wife_," Mick yelled,

"Well she doesn't want to see you. So leave her alone." Ratchet yelled back.

Mick stood by the window glaring at the shoulder length sandy haired man, his fists opening and closing. Ratchet glared back at him and raised an eyebrow; Mick felt intimidated by the Autobot and turned his back on him. He stood there looking out of the window and noticed two jets flying around the hospital; he wasn't sure if they were seeker jets or human ones, but just in case he stepped away from the window anyway. Mick put his hands in his face, "_How could I have been so stupid"_ he thought to himself as he shook his head. Silently Ratchet left hoping the foolish man wasn't going to try anything else.

Clash stayed with Lou to make sure she was okay and comfort her,

"Lou? Lou you okay honey?"

"Clash I am so scared, he is next door to me supposing the Decepticons come for him, supposing they find me or the children."

"It's okay. Sshh calm down." Clash drawing her into his arms to hug her, "Lou, you're safe" Clash continued to reassure her, "So are your children. They are with Bluestreak as we speak. The Lennoxes are coming to visit you tomorrow and they are bringing your children with them. You need to settle down now"

Lou looked at Clash,

"Please stay with me"

"I can't honey I need to go back to recharge, being in holoform mode takes a lot from us. And I have to fulfil my duties on the Autobot base. Will and Sarah will be with you tomorrow, and Jazz and Ratchet are here."

"Fine, go then!" Lou snapped.

"Hey Lou that was uncalled for" Clash retorted before he left,

"Clash, Clash," Lou yelled after him,. "Oh no why did I have to be so rude to him. He has been here with me and now I have hurt him." Jazz walked towards Lou and sat next to her,

"No Lou. Clash will be okay, I have known him a long time, he doesn't let much get to him" Jazz reassured her,

Jazz sat with Lou and gently rubbed her back with a clawed hand as she lay there quietly sobbing to herself. She felt so lonely as she lay there, listening to Jazz's soothing words and felt his claws rubbing her back. Her husband who she once trusted had betrayed her, torn her life apart robbed her of everything that represented her life. She wanted to stay angry with him, she wanted to push him right out of her life. She was so upset with herself all she could think of were those last words she spoke to Clash. They just kept going over and over and over in her head,

"I wouldn't blame him for hating me and never talking to me again Jazz" Lou cried,

"He wouldn't do that Lou. Clash ain't like that, he will forgive you. You wait and see" Jazz reassured her.

Jazz looked around her room, his eyes rested on the scene outside. It was getting dark outside but all the streets and houses were lit up reminding him of the sky on Cybertron, the tall spires and spheres reflecting the moonlight of one of their moons. He knew the humans would be busy going about their business but the sight of the city lights against the dusk sky looked so peaceful. The sky was an array of colour ranging from Ebony to a deep bronze, the last colours of the sun before it disappeared giving way for the night's gentle light to rest upon the city, heralding the end of the day. Inside Lou's room was the gentle light of her lamp, he could hear Lou slowly drifting into a sleep, her breathing becoming more regular and deeper. Her body jolted as her muscles started to relax, she stirred a little bit then settled back down. Ratchet quietly entered her room and called him over to the door. It was time for them to leave for the evening. They walked past Mick's room and peered in through the window, he too was sleeping soundly. His mouth was curled downwards giving his face an expression of sadness. Ratchet wondered if Lou would ever forgive him and if they'd ever get over this. They wouldn't be able to carry on from where they were before he went with the Decepticons but he wondered if they could start again. He shook his head, maybe not, seeing Lou's reaction this afternoon he didn't think so but it was still early days and the road to recovery was going to be long for all of them.

* * *

It was a quiet afternoon, and Lou was enjoying the peace and looking forward to her children visiting her with Will and Sarah. She didn't have any visitors in the morning, Ratchet suggested she should rest so she could enjoy being with her children. She could hear the sounds of children talking and recognised the voices to be Marianne's and Anna's. She could also hear Annabelle's squeals of delight as Marianne played with the little girl. A smile came to Lou's face as the door burst open and in walked Anna,

"Mummyyyyy" the little girl cried as she run to Lou's bed. Sarah picked her up and put her next to Lou,

"Be careful Anna, your mummy is still very sore" Sarah said with a smile,

"I will Sarah," Anna replied as she stroked her mum's leg,

"Mummy!" Anna cried as she flopped on top of Lou, "Mummy, I thought I was never ever going to see you again. I was scared."

"I know baby," Lou replied as she hugged Anna with her arm that was attached to the IV. Lou looked at Will and Sarah,

"I thought I'd never be able to do this again."

Will knew what she was talking about. He hadn't been at the birth of Annabelle or watched her grow up in the first six months. Everyday he was away from his family he feared he'd never see them again. But he had to push it to the back of his mind so he could focus on keeping his men alive during the desperate trek through the desert and Scorponok's attack

"Good to see you awake Lou." Sarah said, "You had your children and us worried there for a while."

"Yeah mum, we were really worried about you," Marianne chastised, "You scared us."

Marianne handed Annabelle back to Sarah so she could give her mum a huge hug. Lou wrapped her injured arm slowly around her daughter grimacing every now and then with the pain,

"Still hurting?" Will asked,

"Yes" Lou replied, "But it is easing and the pain killers help to keep the pain away. I'm hoping to be able to leave soon then I can be with my children again, maybe we can start our lives over, you know find a new place to live, get back to work and get Marianne off to college,"

"Is Mick in those plans?" Will asked,

"I don't know Will" Lou replied sadly, she started to twiddle nervously on the corner of a sheet, "I don't know if I could trust him, we have all been terribly hurt and how do I know he's not going to attract Decepticons?"

Will shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't answer that question. Decepticons didn't normally go after random humans but Mick wasn't really a random human. The Autobots were going to keep Clash as Lou's guardian just in case there were more attacks on the woman from the Decepticons.

It was a nice afternoon; Lou enjoyed the company of her children and the Lennoxes. Nothing else was said about the attack or the Decepticons, Lou felt like it was a normal day in a normal life. It was a good feeling; normality had changed for Lou and her family. The Autobots and the threat of the Decepticons had become a part of her life, but she hoped that the threat would no longer be over hanging over her head. She knew she would have to face Mick in the not too distant future but at the moment it was still too painful. Lou spent many moments of quietness remembering the happy times they shared as a family before all this happened. She didn't know if she could trust him again, or spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder for Decepticons if they were to pick up the pieces and try and carry on with the marriage. It would be just as bad as being in prison. No, life for Lou had changed, she had changed, and she had to work out a way to live with the changes with or without Mick.

It was soon time for the Lennoxes to go, Anna sat on the bottom of Lou's bed quietly with her head down, she really didn't want to go and she really didn't want to leave her mum back in hospital. A tear slipped down the little girl's face and plopped onto the blankets. Sarah saw Anna sitting there and picked her up, her motherly instinct kicking in,

"Okay Will no point in dragging this out, let's take these children back to the Witwickys, their dinner will be ready soon."

She lifted Anna off the bed and led her out of Lou's room by the hand before she could get even more upset. Marianne hugged Lou once more before leaving the room and giving Anna a hug, followed by Will. Anna was still sobbing as she obediently left the hospital still holding Sarah's hand. They got back to Ironhide and drove out the car park,

"Don't worry Anna" Sarah said as she turned around to face Anna, "Your mummy will be out of the hospital soon." Anna didn't say anything she just sat there huddled in Marianne's arms. Her face was all blotchy but she had stopped sobbing. Sarah reached over and gently stroked her face, "It will be okay sweetheart," Ironhide rumbled his engine a little louder, Will patted the dashboard and smiled.

Mick had heard all the noise in Lou's room, he had expected Lou to send the children into him before they left but that didn't happen. Once he heard them leave and saw them pass his door he became outraged that these people who had his children, who he didn't know, would not bring them into him. He threw back the sheets and flew into Lou's room,

"How dare you?" he snarled at his stunned wife, "How dare you have the children here and not send them into me,"

"Mick what are you talking about?" Lou asked completely baffled by his absurd behaviour,

"Did you have them with you?" Mick asked,

"Yes" Lou replied, "But I haven't seen them since..."

"I have a right to see my children" he yelled as he stepped forward and raised his hand to hit her. Lou dodged the hit and heard her door opening, a firm voice yelled at Mick ordering him to leave. Lou looked up at her angry husband and before anybody could do or say anything she swung her plastered arm around hitting him on the face. She hit him so hard and with such force that he fell to the ground knocking himself out as his head hit the wall.

"That's enough" the staff nurse yelled at Lou as she walked in closely followed by Clash. Lou glared at the her then saw Clash,

" What do you mean that's enough? How dare he speak to me that way or yell at me. He's never done it before and he won't start now," she yelled at the nurse

"Calm down Lou!" Clash spoke firmly to his charge, but Lou didn't listen as she carried on ranting,

"Lou" Clash yelled even louder. Lou stopped in her tracks and looked at her guardian, his blue eyes glaring at her.

A groan could be heard from the floor, the injured man rolled over and held his hand over his head, he got up with the help of the staff nurse who took him to his room. Ratchet walked through the door, he was going to speak to the doctor regarding Lou returning to the base,

"What happened?" he asked,

"She hit me!" Mick spat pointing at Lou. Ratchet looked at Lou sitting in her bed then at Mick with his eyebrows raised,

"What were you doing to deserve that?" the medic asked Mick sourly, Mick wouldn't answer, he pulled his arm from the staff nurse and stormed off into his room.

Ratchet walked into Lou's room and sat on her bed,

"How are you Lou?" he asked as he pushed her curls away from her face,

"I'm feeling a lot better thanks Ratchet. I'm a bit fed up with staying in the hospital though. I want to leave,"

"I'm talking to the doctor about you coming back to the base and completing your recovery with us. I can help you with your recovery now you're over the worst of your injuries,"

"BUt Ratchet, you're already busy with..."

"No Lou you're coming back with us," Ratchet had a look on his face suggesting he was not going to take no for an answer. Lou looked at Ratchet, she nodded in affirmation,

"That's good then" he said. It didn't matter if Lou agreed or not, the Autobots wanted to get her out of the hospital because the Decepticons had been seen around the hospital.

Clash came and sat next to Lou, happy she had agreed, she looked at him and gave him a hug,

"Oh what's that for?" he asked a little bit surprised,

"For coming back" Lou replied with a smile,

"what?" still surprised at Lou

"Clash I was rude to you. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that after everything you've done for me,"

"Oh Lou. I wasn't angry with you," Clash lifted Lou's face so she had to look at him, "Lou being your guardian was one of the best things which happened to me, there is nothing you could say that would upset me and if you did I'd let you know. So don't go working yourself up into a stew." He picked up Lou's plastered arm, "That's some weapon you got there, I'll have to make sure I stay on your good side,"

"Shut up" Lou replied and playfully hit him.

* * *

It had been a two weeks since Lou had woken up. She was sitting in her room with Sunny and Sides who were visiting her. She was looking a whole lot better, the swelling on her face had gone down and the bruising was now yellow, her nose was still a little bit sore sore but the swelling was gone. The hospital had agreed to Lou going back to the Autobot base and allowing Ratchet to continue her care.

There was a knock at her door,

"Come in" she called,

Lou's face darkened, when the person who stepped in was Mick. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe immediately moved closer to Lou, Sunny glared at the man,

"What do you want?" Lou asked defensively,

"I just came to let you know I am leaving the hospital tomorrow." Mick said sadly,

"Oh? Where will you go?" Lou asked quietly,

"I'm thinking about going to my Mum's." mick replied,

Sideswipe opened his comm. Link to Prime.

"**Prime, Mick is being discharged tomorrow; he is going to his Mum's house."**

"**No, that can't happen!"** Prime replied, **"He mustn't be allowed to leave the hospital. I will send Prowl and Red Alert to stay at the hospital in case he tries to make an escape."**

"**Yes sir"**

Sideswipe looked at Mick,

"Mick we need you to stay close in case the Decepticons come back for you." he said

"No I will stay with my mum, I will be safe, the Decepticons won't come back for me. They have no need," Mick replied,

Sunstreaker got up and moved dangerously towards the man,

"Sir I suggest you do what we want, the Decepticons don't like losing the fight that easily, if they want you they will get you. No matter where you are!" He insisted impatiently,

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do?" Mick argued,

"Oh Mick, stop being an idiot. Just do what they want." Lou yelled at Mick,

"You shut up woman" Mick scolded his wife,

"Oh I see the Decepticon ways have rubbed off on you Mick." Lou snipped,

"Lou calm down" Sideswipe said gently,

"Mick you _will_ stay here." Sideswipe stated firmly,

"No I will not. My mother is coming to collect me. I will be going tomorrow. You can't stop me leaving," Mick argued,

"Sir I suggest you do as we say, we are not the sort of people you want to mess around with. Trust us! We know what we are talking about; if you stay with your mother you could be endangering her."

Sideswipe was getting concerned now, this man seemed to be ignoring the very real threat of the Decepticons, surely he'd already learnt his lesson, and surely he wasn't going to endanger another person.

Mick stopped in his tracks and started to think about his mother, he'd never cope if he put her in danger, he'd already done enough damage with his marriage, Lou and his children. Sunstreaker saw the opportunity and suddenly got up and grabbed the man holding his hands behind his back and pushed him out of the door, he took him to chair and pushed him into it,

"You just watch us!" the holoform growled then picked up Mick and pushed him back into his room.

* * *

It was late and Sunny and Sides had left the hospital leaving Lou alone to rest before she went to the Autobot base tomorrow. Nobody saw the silent figure moving through the corridor, nor did they hear the door to Lou's room open. Lou certainly didn't hear the silent footsteps moving toward her.

The figure stood over Lou's bed, red eyes staring at the sleeping woman. A student nurse entered her room to make sure she was comfortable. The figure quickly darted away shuttering his eyes so they didn't glow in the darkness and alert the woman to his presence. While the nurse was in Lou's room her hairs stood on end and she felt like somebody was watching her. The nurse quickly left the room and and spoke to the staff nurse in charge of the ward,

"We'll ask security to check the CCTV to see if the cameras have caught anything. You do that while I just go and make sure Lou is okay."

The staff nurse walked into her room, it did feel different. She felt very uncomfortable in there. She didn't want to leave Lou in the room and decided to wake her up,

"What's wrong?" Lou asked sleepily,

"It's just a security precaution Lou we need to move you out now,"

"Okay," the sleepy woman agreed.

Lou was moved out of her room, she didn't appreciate being disturbed but didn't say anything; she'd decided they obviously had their reasons.

Ratchet, Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Prowl and Clash were there waiting for her outside the hospital in their alt modes. The nurse got to the ambulance bay where Ratchet was waiting for her. Lou was placed on a gurney and Ratchet drove off quickly. Nobody told her that Decepticons were seen hanging around the hospital, they didn't want to scare her unnecessarily.

* * *

This is the end of the chapter 13.


	14. Chapter 14

The o_n_ly characters i own in this story are; Lou, Mick, Marianne, Anna, Clash, Dark Orbit, Lucy and a new character Nathan. The others are not mine.

Took a while to write and after several rewrites here is chapter 14. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14

Mick meets the Autobots.

It was early in the morning and the sun was already shining through the window to Mick's room in the hospital. He was going home today…or so he thought. He got out of bed and looked at himself in the mirror, he still had scars and marks on his face and when he opened his pyjama top he could see scars from the beatings he'd received from the Decepticons. Outside he could hear the chatter of the nursing staff who had arrived for their morning shift; they were talking to those who were coming off the night shift. He could hear the soft Irish accent of Lucy who was going to complete her final day of this shift rotation. He walked out of his room with his towel and the clothes in his hand that his mother had brought him the day before. A pair of blue jeans, a blue and white stripy t- shirt and a pair of leather shoes.

Just nearby in the Autobot base Optimus Prime was talking with his SIC about how they were going to collect Mick without causing too much disruption to the other patients in the hospital. They were both aware that he wouldn't go easily and Lou had been made aware that Mick could quite possibly end up in the Autobot base but that she would be okay as long as she stayed with her guardian. Red alert wasnt happy about Mick coming to the base. He'd already ended up in the med bay five times because he'd glitched himself thinking about it. Ratchet threatened to tie him to a wrench and throw the wrench if he did it again.

Optimus Prime and Prowl left the base to collect Mick while Clash took Lou to Ratchet's med bay so that he could check her wounds were still healing properly. Clash punched in the number on the keypad and the door swished open,

"Hi Ratchet," Lou called to the neon green medic who turned around and smiled at his patient while he strode toward her,

"Hello Lou," he replied, "Sit on the berth over there and I'll have a look at your injuries,"

Clash placed Lou onto the berth and moved away so Ratchet could do everything he needed to do. Lou could feel the medic's fingers as they gently felt her stitiches on her shoulder, he got a scanner and started scanning it. She felt a little bit of discomfort but she sat still and waited until he had finished. The medic got impatient with his patients if they fidgeted while he was scanning them, Lou learnt this the hard way from when she first met him. Lou looked up at Ratchet; he had a frown on his face,

"Everything alright Ratchet?" Lou asked with a tone of concern in her voice,

"The wound on your shoulder isn't healing too well Lou. It seems to be taking a long time," Ratchet replied,

"Oh" she was disappointed to hear that but waited for Ratchet to finish scanning her shoulder,

"Does it hurt Lou?" he asked,

"Sometimes," she replied, "Especially if I suddenly move it,"

"Lou I'm going to make up a lotion for the wound to help it heal, hopefully it will give your skin that little bit more of a boost and it will heal more quickly. It will be something similar to what I use on a transformer's protoform but it will be suitable for human skin. As for your leg we can start your physio now, the plaster will be off soon,"

"Okay," Lou replied with a smile, "It will be good to get the plaster off,"

"You still have a long way to go Lou, you sustained a lot of injuries," Ratchet reminded his patient,

"I know Ratchet," she replied, "But it will be good to get the plaster off,"

* * *

Back at the hospital Mick had had his shower and he was dressed and clean shaven. He walked past the room where Lou was staying and quickly peeped inside. As he did he dropped his pyjamas, towel and bathroom bag. Lou wasn't there; her bed was made with fresh sheets which had been turned back at the corner ready to welcome the next patient. He turned around infuriated by the empty room just as a staff nurse walked past,

"Hey where's Lou?" he yelled at her,

The staff nurse looked at him, disgusted by his rude behaviour,

"Are you speaking to me?" she asked,

"Yes I am!" he replied rudely, "Where's Lou?"

"Lou who?"

"You know the woman who was brought in here with long blond curly hair and a fair few injuries," He was speaking so fast, the nurse could barely understand him.

"Oh her," the staff nurse replied, "She left last night, don't know why…some sort of a security threat. You need to speak to somebody else I've only just come on shift from a two week holiday."

Mick looked around and saw the nurse's station where Lucy was standing talking to two men. He recognised one of them as the man who came to visit him while he was in hospital but the other one he saw was someone he hadn't seen before. He had black straight hair which was brushed away from his face, and tanned skin; they were both wearing casual shirts with jeans and casual shoes. Mick marched up to the station and looked at the nurses standing there laughing and joking as some got ready to leave after an interesting night shift, and others left to meet their patients. Lucy and her friend stayed behind the nurse's desk and chatted a bit longer. Mick marched up to the Nurses station,

"Where's my wife?" he demanded,

Optimus Prime and Prowl turned around to face Mick,

"Mr. Ferrier?" Mick stopped and looked at the two men,

"Yeah?" he snapped

"We've come to pick you up from th hospital," Prowl took him by the arm while Optimus Prime spoke to him, Mick yanked his arm away from Prowl,

"What d'you mean you're picking me up from the hospital and where's my wife?" he demanded,

"Mr. Ferrier," Prime replied more firmly, "All your questions will be answered shortly we just need you to come with us for your own safety and the safety of the patients and staff of this hospital,"

"What do you mean? I'm going home with my mother,"

The two men looked at each other, then grabbed him on either side of the arm and walked him out of the hospital,

"Let me go!" Mick yelled, "This is a violation of my rights, let me go!"

"You gave up your rights when you joined the Decepticons sir," Optimus Prime replied,

"You're coming with us; you are a threat to the security of this hospital and the people in it. Now get in the car!" Prowl ordered,

Mick became enraged, his face started to turn a shade of red as he rose into uncontrollable fits of rage. He could feel a giant force move upwards through his system engulfing every part of his body with anger. He lost all clarity of mind as he pulled his arm free from Prowl and firmly pushed him over. He then yanked his other arm from the grip Optimus Prime had on him and ran through the car park.

Prowl quickly got up and chased Mick through the car park but he was no match for the Autobots who caught up to and knocked him to the ground,

"Get up!" the tactician growled as he yanked the brunette by his arm,

"Get off of me!" Mick fought against Prowl's grip but the Autobot just wasn't going to let him go and marched him towards the police car,

"Get in!" the tactician ordered as he opened the door and pushed Mick in with his hand on top of his head,

Mick was disgruntled with the way he was pushed into the police car and glared at the man sitting next to him. Prowl glared back at Mick as his eyes narrowed into slits, he resented dealing with this man; anybody who sided with the Decepticons was no friend as far as he was concerned. Mick was angry, angry at his wife who wasn't being a good little girl and returning to him. And then there were these two men who were adamant he had to go with them. Who were they? And where did they think they were taking him?

The car pulled out of the car park with Optimus Prime following closely behind. They made the short drive to the Autobot base where he would be staying for a while. As they got closer Prowl stopped the car and opened the glove compartment where there was a blindfold which Prowl took out and tied around Mick's head covering his eyes,

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mick yelled, "Take it off!"

"Can't!" Prowl smirked, "You're not allowed to see where you're going,"

Mick started to panic now, he moved his hands desperately around the car trying to find the door handle. His hand stumbled on various handles and knobs but he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"Where's the door handle," Mick yelled.

His hand suddenly stunmbled on the handle but as he went to pull it the door locked of its own accord,

"Hey, open the door," Mick yelled, "Open it now,"

"Watch yourself!" Prowl replied, "And stop pulling at the door like that!"

"_This guy is one difficult customer!" _Prowl thought to himself and continued to head in the direction of the Autobot base. He was going to enter through the side entrance which was away from prying eyes. Lou was outside with her children, Clash and Bluestreak playing basketball in the shade of the base. Ratchet had fixed a basket on the wall of the base for Sam and Mikaela.

Marianne and Anna used to play basketball in their garden with their Dad. He had attached a basket on the wall of their house in their back garden, and they spent many an afternoon after school or an evening shooting baskets or playing together. Lou watched the bittersweet moment as the children played with the Autobots, while she remembered the sounds of laughter drifting through their house when they played with their Dad, and the cheers as the ball went through the hoop.

It was Anna's turn to score but she was a lot smaller than Marianne and would have had difficulty scoring. Bluestreak suddenly came up behind her and lifted her up so she could put the ball in the net. She squealed with fright as she felt Blue's hands wrap around her waist and felt herself being lifted into the air. She got the ball into the basket and was put down again. She raised her hand up to Blue to do high five and then danced around singing,

"Yeah! I scored. I'm the best. Go me," The two Autobots, Lou and Marianne burst out laughing.

Nobody was aware of a human dressed in soldier's uniform, leaning against the smooth grey wall of the base nearby. He was hiding from Ratchet who had moaned at him about the amount of coffee he was drinking and enjoyed watching the happy moment. Nathan was a captain in the army who had just come off leave. He had been on a holiday to Australia to visit his sister who had just got married but now he was back in America and working on the Autobot base. He was tall, approx 5'9 with short blond hair and pale blue eyes. His athletic body was tanned from his time down under. He had his sleeves rolled up showing well toned arms from his work outs to maintain his level of fitness and lines around his eyes which were creased as he smiled at the happy family. His gaze fell on the blonde curly haired woman sitting in the shade smiling, he had heard about Lou and wondered if this was the woman the mech's and other soldiers talked about with fondness and respect.

Red Alert was on monitor duty, he had been keeping an eye on Lou and the children, although he really didn't need to; Clash and Bluestreak were out there. As he continued to watch the three humans and two Autobots playing he noticed the signal of Prime and Prowl in the distance. He wasn't happy with the idea of Mick being on the base but both Prime and Prowl agreed it would be better than allowing him to leave the hospital and disappear totally. It wasn't long before Prowl turned onto the dirt track that led to the Autobot base. Clash noticed Prowl and Optimus Prime drive toward the base and told Lou to move further around the side of the base where they continued playing with the children. Jazz and Red Alert met Prowl at the side entrance. Optimus Prime branched off and went in through the front door of the base, he saw small group playing and stopped to watch them for a while before going to his office,

"You may take off the blindfold now Mick Ferrier,"

Mick took it off, his eyes blinked as they adjusted to the light. Once they had he looked around all he could see was the blue sky and yellow sand with areas of vegetation normally found in the desert. Prowl opened his door for Mick to exit the police mustang, he stepped out as he continued looking around. He could hear the voices of children playing, he recognised the voices as those of his own children and looked around desperately trying hard to see them but they were nowhere around,

"Where is this place?" Mick asked,

"You're at the Autobot headquarters, you will be here for a few days. As you can see it's mostly desert so there is no point in trying to escape," a voice replied behind him.

Mick looked around and up until he was face to face with with Jazz. The saboteur looked down at him and appeared to be studying the man. Mick suddenly heard whirs and clicks he associated with the Decepticon's transformation process. The black and white police mustang completed his transformation process and picked up Mick in his huge red hand,

"Alright, bring him in," Jazz sighed.

Mick could hear the sound of a door swishing shut, throwing the whole entrance into darkness. He was now thoroughly disorientated and looked around trying to get his bearings but all he could see were two sets of blue eyes and Jazz's visor glowing brighter in the darkness. Mick looked around his surroundings as Prowl walked him through the base. The ceilings were very high and grey, there were corridors going off the main corridor they were walking along and doors in the wall with panels next to them with strange symbols on them. They passed other mechs who saluted Prowl, Jazz and Red Alert then glared at the tiny human in Prowl's hand. Mick couldn't help but squirm in the Autobot's red hand, he felt so unwelcome in the Autobot base and decided he'd find a way to escape as quick as he could. With or without his wife!

They passed Will Lennox and Ironhide who were making their way to the entrance of the base. It was the end of Will's shift and he was going home to his pregnant wife and daughter. Ironhide saw the three officers and saluted them, he then spotted Mick,

"Decepticon!" he growled. Will looked up at Ironhide shocked with the coldness with which Ironhide spoke of a human,

"I do not like that man," Ironhide said to Will,

"Easy there big guy," Will soothed the weapons specialist as he stroked his hand.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were on their way to the entrance of the base to begin their patrol. They saw Prowl, Jazz and Red Alert and saluted them, and glared at the human sitting in the SIC's hand. Sunstreaker hit his brother in the arm,

"Hey Sides isn't that the squishy who worked with the Decepticons?"

"If he worked with the Decepticon then he must be Decepticon," Sideswipe replied,

"Yeah," Sunstreaker replied,

"Decepticon!" Sunstreaker growled as they passed the two mechs,

Mick looked up at Prowl,

"They called me Decepticon," he said to the tactician,

"You are in the Autobot base Mick. Decepticons are our enemy which makes you an enemy to the Autobots so watch yourself!" Prowl warned.

Mick carried on ranting about being brought to the Autobot base and being called Decepticon. Prowl looked at the angry man with contempt and disgust unable to understand what he was so angry about. Optimus Prime had just arrived at his office and was sitting at his desk when he heard the mechs coming down the corridor with Mick, _"This is not going to be easy," _he thought to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose waiting for the knock at his door. It soon came,

"Come in," Mick recognised that voice and groaned.

Prowl walked up to Prime's desk and unceremoniously placed the man in front of Prime. Mick looked up at the huge behemoth with his mouth opened wide. He had never met any Decepticon as big as Optimus Prime. Not only was the red and blue mech huge but he was charismatic and carried an air of authority which the other mechs respected,

"Mick Ferrier,"

Optimus Prime spoke with an authority which commanded the attention of everybody in the room. Mick stood on Optimus Prime's desk still awestruck by the sheer size of the huge blue and red mech. His eyes travelled up the body of Optimus Prime taking in every single detail. He noticed the red flames on Prime's body, his eyes stopped on them for a while. He then continued to look up towards Prime's face, the dishevelled man noticed Prime's crystal blue eyes which were focused upon him. Optimus prime sat down in front of Mick so he was eye to eye with the small human.

Mick stood in front of Prime with his head down, unable to look the leader in the eye,

"Mick Ferrier, my name is Optimus Prime. I am the leader of the Autobots. As you probably already know you are in the Autobot base; do not try to leave here because you are in the middle of the desert,"

"Is my wife here? I want to see her!" Mick snapped,

"You _DO NOT_ make demands of Optimus Prime. You are in no position to do that," Prowl warned Mick,

"You will get to see your wife, but at the moment you need to understand why you are here and what we expect from you during your stay with us," Mick glared at Optimus Prime,

"Oh and what will that be?" Mick replied as he placed his fists on his hips, and looked towards the giant mech then around to Prowl,

"May I remind you," Prowl said impatiently, "You are speaking with the leader of the Autobots,"

"Oh goody goody!" Mick replied sarcastically.

Optimus Prime got down to Mick's level his face right in the man's face. Mick felt so intimidated by the mech being so close he had to take a step back. Prowl put his hand behind Mick so he didn't step back too far and fall off the desk

"You worked with the Decepticons which makes you our enemy and dangerous to the people of this world, you tried to hack into our systems and almost got your wife killed and your house and belongings are gone. You are in no place to speak to me this way," Optimus got up and looked down at Mick,

Yeah but I only lost everything because I couldn't do what they wanted me to do," Mick tried to protest,

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" Prowl replied, Optimus Prime placed a hand on Prowl's arm,

"We'll get to the bottom of this later Prowl when the Defence Secretary Keller gets here."

Optimus Prime looked up at his 2IC,

"Take this Decepticon and get him settled into his quarters," Optimus Prime glared down at the human, "Some rules for you Mick. You will have no contact with your wife without your guard or her guardian being with you," Mick's jaw dropped,

"You can't do that," he argued

"You will be _quiet!_" Prowl yelled,

Mick looked at Prowl,

"Shut up!" Mick screamed at Prowl,

"That is enough," Prime yelled at Mick,

"You will have no contact with any human without Prowl. Prowl is your guard, you will go nowhere without him. You will have no conact with the outside world without Prowl or Red Alert. And all your rights and liberties will be taken off you while you are in this base. You will be considered as dangerous because of your association with the Decepticons…"

"But I'm not with the Decepticons anymore," Mick replied his voice thick with frustration as he tried to get his point across,

"May I remind you that you spent a lot of time with the Decepticons. You _will_ be considered as dangerous. Everybody in this base knows of you, we will try to protect you but watch yourself, many mechs aren't happy with you being here. Take him to his quarters!" Prime ordered his SIC.

On the way to Mick's quarters they had to pass Ironhide who was waiting for Will to finalise a few things before he went back home to his wife,

"Decepticon punk!" the huge black mech growled at Mick. Mick turned to Ironhide and smirked at him; the weapons specialist growled and turned his back on Mick muttering something quietly about catching him alone. Prowl saw Ironhide's reaction to Mick and wondered what was going on; he looked down at Mick who was still smirking at the weapons specialist. Prowl lifted Mick up so they were eye to optic,

"You really don't want to mess with Ironhide or anybody else. I told you to watch yourself around here; you're an enemy of the Autobots and at any opportunity someone won't think twice about squashing you!" Mick looked up at Prowl then turned to Lennox.

The soldier heard Ironhide making exclamations and turned around,

"What's up big guy?" he asked the weapons specialist, he then saw Prowl standing nearby with Mick and guessed he knew Ironhide's problem,

Mick looked down at Will Lennox thinking that another human male would make him feel more welcome. Mick whistled to Will to get his attention, he turned around and looked up at Mick,

"So tell me," Mick called down to Lennox, "How long have you known these guys for?"

"Ironhide and I have known each other for the last two years. Listen, these guys…_you_ kinda don't wanna mess with them with your history," the soldier replied in an authorative tone, "Come on Ironhide, I need to get back to my family. Annabelle's not very well,"

"That doesn't sound good, will she be okay?"

Lennox turned around and looked up when he heard the familiar voice of the neon green medic. He was just on his way to the rec room to have a cube of energon,

"Nah Ratchet, she'll be fine. It's just a cold but she's miserable with it and Sarah will need a break. It can get quite hard for her when Anna is clingy and miserable. Thanks for asking though,"

Will was grateful for the medic's concern for his family. He often wondered how a medic who was continually throwing wrenches and insulting his patients could be so caring about his small family

"Your welcome Captain Lennox," The small human smiled in amusement at the huge medic before patting him on the leg in a friendly way,

"Oh Ratchet, you're always so formal," and laughed as he walked away shaking his head.

Mick watched this interaction, he never saw the Decepticons as friendly as this. They always seemed so…angry and contemptuous towards each other, especially their self elected leader, Starscream. He wouldn't have dreamed of speaking to any Decepticon the way Lennox just spoke to Ratchet, and in a strange sort of way found himself to be jealous of the soldier for his relationship with the medic and the weapons specialist. Even Lou had a friendly relationship with these huge beings, especially the one that was always with her. He desperately wanted to get her on her own away from her friend but didn't know how. He thought maybe he could lure her away from the base but wasn't sure if she'd go. It had the makings of a plan though which would have to be airtight. Then he heard Prowl behind him, and slumped. How was he going to get away from his _prison guard_?

Lennox walked out of the base with Ironhide.

"I do not like that human," Ironhide snarled,

"You and me both big guy," Lennox replied as he patted Ironhide's leg,

"Be careful Lennox he is not trustworthy," Ironhide started his transformation process into his topkick mode so that he could take his charge back to his family,

"Don't worry Ironhide I know who Mick is," Will watched Ironhide still amazed at how something so big could turn into a pickup truck, he often wondered what happened to the mech's cannons, he was going to ask the weapons specialist one day when things were quiet and they could have one of their many conversations.

"No, Captain Lennox, I don't think you do. He is not to be trusted. Keep him away from your family," Ironhide spoke to Will in a way he had never spoken to him before as he completed his transformation process.

Will cringed, he knew when Ironhide referred to him as Captain Lennox the mech was either trying to get a point across or Will had somehow annoyed the mech,

"Hey cool it Hide!" Will replied in an effort to soothe his friend, "Don't worry Ironhide. I promise my family will be safe from Mick. Besides big guy, I have you!" he patted Ironhide's dashboard as he said it,

"I may not always be around Captain Lennox," Ironhide replied

Will shuddered at the thought of this big black alien robot who had become a member of their little family not being around. He knew he'd miss Ironhide and Annabelle certainly would too. Even Sarah had grown fond of Ironhide, although she hadn't admitted it, but Lennox knew his wife.

* * *

Red Alert had been busy putting cameras up in every area of Mick's quarters. There was also a code for his door which Mick didn't know but Prime, Ratchet, Prowl and Red did. The security officer let Prowl know Mick' quarters were ready for him. Prowl walked Mick to his quarters,

"Here you are. These are your living quarters," Prowl walked into Mick's quarters,locked the door and placed the human on the floor.

Mick looked around the room, it looked comfortable, basic but comfortbale. He noticed the cameras as he went from one area of his quarters to the next,

"What are the cameras for?" he asked,

"So we can keep an eye on you," Prowl replied quietly,

"Why?" Mick asked, "It's not like I can escape anywhere or contact anyone," he snapped,

Prowl raised an optic ridge,

"That remains to be seen," he replied and turned around to walk out,

"Just a minute are you implying that I'm…?"

"Going to try something? Yes I am, you aren't exactly helping yourself at the moment,"

Prowl walked out of the door, it swished shut and clicked as the door locked securely behind the mech. Mick looked at the door he noticed it had no handles, locks or anything else which would enable him to open it,

"Hey!" he yelled, "How am I supposed to get out of here? Can you hear me?" he tried to feel the door for any sort of switch but there was nothing there; just a plain grey door.

Red Alert was watching him through one of the cameras, smirking as he watched Mick trying to escape,

"Yes I hear you," he said to himself, "Loud and clear,"

Mick continued banging on the door and yelling to be released from his quarters which appeared to him to be more of a prison. He walked up to the camera and pointed,

"You get me outta here, you hear? Let me out. You've no right to keep me locked up in here like this. Who do you think you are?"

Mick was fuming by this point; he didn't like being treated like a prisoner and wished he could be free. Eventually he gave up as he leaned against the wall, buried his face in his hand and slid down into a crouching position. As far as he was concerned, he was now no better off than the Decepticons and couldn't see why Lou or his children were singing their praises.

It suddenly occurred to him that this was what Lou went through when the Decepticons caught her except she went through all the torture and pain. He wept bitterly covering his hands over his ears trying to block out the memory of Lou' s screams of pain when he watched her body being mutilated. He shuddered as he shut his eyes and then he remembered the good times they had. He didn't know how he was going to get those back or even get to Lou or his children. He got up once more and looked at the camera,

"Please, could someone let me out of here; let me see Lou and the children. Please," he begged, hoping that somebody was listening, hoping he could get his life back together. He was unaware of the plans Lou was making to continue with her life.

Mick was allowed out of his room, he was allowed to move around the base accompanied by Prowl. If Prowl couldn't guard him than another officer would but they weren't exactly qeuing up. Most times when Prowl couldn't guard the human he was placed into the brig. It wasn't a pleasant place to be at all, he was in a cell with pink energon bars which hummed loudly. The brig was dark and the berth was too big for him so he had no choice but to lay on the floor.

On one occasion Prowl really couldn't guard him. He had to go on a mission with Jazz so Red Alert was asked to guard him,

"You've got to be kidding me!" the paranoid mech yelled after the tactician asked him, "There is no way I'm going to guard him. What if he kidnaps me or takes me to the Decepticons. No I'm not doing it," the security officer could feel himself starting to glitch. Prowl really didn't want to meet Ratchet's wrench so he quickly left Red Alert in the corridor as he continued to glitch his circuits. What was even worst was that Prowl went to the medic and asked him to guard Mick. Ratchet looked at Prowl dangerously, and started to open his subspace,

"Can't Red do it?" Ratchet asked as he continued to move around his med bay and tidy up,

"I've asked him but he isn't happy about doing it?" Ratchet immediately turned around,

"What do you mean he isn't happy about it? Prowl what happened? Where is he?" by this time Ratchet was already out of the door and marching down the corridor, wrench in hand.

It wasn't long before he found the glitching mech standing in the corridor. He threw his wrench at the red and white mech,

"Snap out of it," Ratchet growled, "Get a grip on yourself before you do more serious damage," he then grabbed Red Alert and dragged him back to the med bay where Prowl was waiting for them,

"Alright, I'll do it. Just this once. After I've seen Lou," the medic sighed and went back to the berth where Red was laying.

Prowl thanked the medic and left the med bay to let Mick know what was going to happen,

"Oh and don't annoy him Prowl warned. You will regret it if you do!"

He picked up Mick and took him out of his quarters and to the med bay. Clash and Lou were still in the med bay so they had to wait a while before they left. Prowl took him to the rec room where Jazz and Mirage were sat. Mirage said something to Jazz who looked around at Prowl then at who Prowl had in his hand,

"Wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him," Jazz replied to Mirage, they both got up and walked out. Jazz patted Prowl on the shoulder,

"Meet you by the entrance," he told Prowl, Prowl looked at the saboteur and nodded. Mick followed them both as they left,

"That's Mirage and Jazz," Prowl told Mick, you've met both of them when we were rescuing you and Lou, and when Mirage visited you the first time."

* * *

Lou was in the med bay with Ratchet who was once again checking her shoulder; it had made a slight improvement. Ratchet grunted with satisfaction at the improvement,

"Lou, have you thought about facing Mick?" Lou nodded. She knew the time would come when she had to face him, but not alone.

"I will face him Ratchet but not alone" she said,

"I could be with you, if you wanted that," Lou looked at him,

"And Clash?" she asked,

"Yes, if that's what you want." Ratchet replied with a smile, "Anyway Lou I have to do something right now," He lifted Lou off the berth and handed her to Clash,

"Be careful," He warned the midnight blue mech, "Mick is nearby" Clash nodded and walked off in the opposite direction to the tactician and his prisoner,

"**Okay Prowl bring him in," **Ratchet replied resentfully

Prowl took Mick into the med bay and put him on the berth in front of Ratchet. The medic looked down at the small human male and grunted with contempt for him. Mick looked up at the huge neon green medic,

"What are you? Some kinda doctor or something?" Mick laughed, Ratchet looked down at him,

"My name is Ratchet and I am the chief medical officer for the Autobots and you'd do well to mind your manners. _Do not _mock me ordo not touch anything. This is my med bay so you will do what I say! Stay on this berth and don't do anything you'd regret,"

"You're the one that had my wife…"

"I rescued your wife from the Decepticons," Ratchet replied sharply, "She is lucky to be alive on both occasions,"

"Yeah well she's always been stubborn, she should have given…"

"She did everything she was meant to do, her stubbornness kept her alive! May I remind you that she got involved in our war because of _your_ stupidity. You foolish human you threw away everything and nearly lost your wife. You're not here because we want you here, you're here because you have crossed our paths,"

"What are you talking about, crossed your paths. The Decepticons wouldn't have harmed Lou if she had given them what they wanted," Mick yelled back,

"Mick, we have known the Decepticons long before your world was created and long before your pathetic existence begun. Do not underestimate them or us. They are not interested in friendship, only in dominating those who are more vulnerable so they can kill their world for energy and then domination of the universes," Ratchet cycled air through his vents, Mick was frustrating and he was beginning to wish he hadn't said yes to watching him. His blue eyes bore holes into Mick's very core.

Mick stopped and thought for a minute. Supposing the medic was right? What if he was on the opposing side to the Autobots? What if he had inadvertently made himself an enemy of these very beings, who had saved him and his wife and family? He shook his head, _"No!" _he thought, _"Not possible." _Ratchet watched Lou's husband closely, he appeared to be thinking, his expression was…interesting. The medic smirked to himself as he continued to watch the tiny human then shook his head and walked away.

Mick sat on the berth and continued to think about his plan of escape. He was going to be in the med bay for a whole day so he had plenty of time to think about it. There was no way he was going to consider staying in the Autobot base and be questioned for crimes or face consequences for crimes he didn't believe he had committed.

He tried to remember Barricade's calling code, it took a while but eventually he managed to recall the numbers. All he had to do now was make sure they stayed in his short term memory and find a way of contacting him. Barricade could help him escape, he could convince Lou to come with him, they could move to another part of America or the world and start their lives all over again. They would never have to worry about the Decepticons or the Autobots again. That sounded all very good and ideal but right at the back of his mind Mick couldn't help but think that that wasn't going to be so easy. He lay back on the berth with his head resting on his arms which were folded and his knees bent and whistled a tune. Ratchet looked around at the human and then turned back to what he was doing. Mick stopped whistling and watched Ratchet out of the corner of his eye, before he continued to whistle a tune that was annoying for humans let alone Autobots,

"Stop that!" Ratchet said sourly,

"What?" Mick replied and continued to whistle,

"I said stop it!" Ratchet snapped,

"Nope!" Mick replied.

Ratchet took a wrench out of his subspace and aimed it at the human, then thought twice and aimed it at the berth he was lying on. It hit the side of the berth and ricocheted off bouncing onto the floor. Mick stopped looked at the medic, looked down on the floor then smiled at Ratchet, put his thumbs up and lay back to start whistling again. The neon green medic growled and switched off his audio sensors.

Mick looked at Ratchet who was not listening to him. He started to whistle again, still nothing. He lay back swearing at the medic unaware that Ratchet had switched the radio on, Mick started to whistle again. The more the medic ignored him the more Mick got frustrated with the mech.

Mick was taken back in his quarters after his frustrating day with the medic. Ratchet told Prowl how Mick had tried to annoy him whistling an annoying tune only to find himself more frustrated than the medic was. Ratchet hadn't had that much fun for a long time. He'd even broadcasted the whistling and the swearing over the radio system so the rest of the Autobots could hear it. The whole base was full of laughter as they listened to the man swearing at the medic who couldn't hear him and carried on whistling.

* * *

Lou was sitting on a rock to the side of the base which was creating a shadow. It was peaceful… really peaceful and that was what she wanted. The afternoon was hot but it was comfortable in the shade. Lou asked Clash for some alone time which he allowed her to do so long as she didn't wander off too far.

The blonde haired woman promised she wouldn't. She looked off into the distance; the sky was deep blue with wispy clouds drifting across the sky. As she looked into the distance she could see where the yellow of the desert met the blue sky, shimmering in the midday heat. Every now and then a fly would buzz past her face. She couldn't hear much of a sound except for the sound of footsteps approaching her, _"Oh no!"_ thought Lou. This was a peaceful moment and she didn't want to have it disturbed by her husband,

"Hi, Lou isn't it?" a southern accent drawled,

Lou quickly turned around and heaved a sigh of relief. She found herself looking into the light blue eyes of Captain Nathan Brown,

"Yeah that's right," she replied, "And you're Captain…"

"Nathan, just call me Nathan," he replied as he handed his hand to her.

Lou took it and shook hands with the sandy blonde haired soldier,

"Well, pleased to meet you Nathan," Lou said quietly with a smile,

"Any reason why you're out here alone," he asked,

"I'm just enjoying the quiet. Don't worry Clash knows I'm here. He is nearby,"

"Oh I wasn't prying. I was just asking. May I?" he asked as he pointed to the rock with his hand,

"Oh sure," Lou replied as she shuffled over awkwardly to give Nathan room to sit on the rock,

"So how are you?" he asked looking at her leg which was still in plaster,

"Okay, getting better," Lou replied, "Just my shoulder that's taking some time to heal, that's all,"

"Oh, sorry to hear that," Nathan replied, Lou forgot for a moment she had an injury that was still healing and shrugged her shoulders, causing her to flinch,

"Careful!" Nathan said,

She looked at the man and thought he must be at least 45 years old. She noticed how tanned his skin looked and wondered where he was prior to his arrival at the Autobot base. There was a moment's uncomfortable silence before he spoke again,

"So? Have you known the Autobots long?"

"No only since the trouble with Mick," Lou replied sadly

"Oh you're the lady with the husband …"

"Who worked for the Decepticons. Yes but I'd rather be known as Lou," she interjected,

"Not a problem. It must have been terrible for you when you found out," Nathan empathised, Lou looked at him sadly,

"Where do I start?" she asked,

"The beginning is usually a good place to start," he replied,

"Nathan I'm not really ready to talk about it yet. My life as I knew it has fallen apart. I need to try to get it back together again. Thing is I don't know how,"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he replied,

"Sorry Nathan I shouldn't have told you that." Lou said as she struggled to get up with the aid of her crutch,

"Why not? Lou what you went through was tough, but you don't have to deal with it alone. You have friends who want to help you and if you don't mind I'd like to be included among those friends,"

Lou turned around and looked at him, "_Ooops Nathan! Slow down there," _he reminded himself. Lou appreciated Nathan's offer of friendship. Friends were what she wanted right now. People who would gather around her and support her as she sorted out her life and considered where to take it from here. Sure, she had Clash and the Autobots but they were still learning the ways of human relationships. Judy and Ron, Sarah and Will and Epps had all been wonderful and now it appeared she had somebody else wanting to help her through this as well.

At the same time she couldn't help but have a certain amount of compassion for the man she married and once loved. He had got himself in a load of trouble through thoughtless stubbornness and stupidity. He was now alone and in a whole load of trouble with giant alien beings who were the very enemy of those he had become a friend with.

"Well you're not very backward in coming forward are you?" Lou replied with amusement in her voice, _"I like this guy," _she thought and sat back down,

"No, I'm just saying. Don't push them away," Nathan replied,

Lou looked down at her feet again,

"Okay!" she replied feeling embarrassed by this new attention,

They sat outside talking for a while; Lou looked very happy talking and laughing with the man. Every now and then Clash would ask Red Alert to check the cameras to make sure she was there. Clash and Red saw Nathan with her and both decided it would be good to give her some space.

"Do you have any children?" Nathan asked,

"Yes two girls, Marianne who is 17 and Anna who is nearly 9. They are with Sam and Mikaela at the moment. I would like to see them again,"

"I can take you now if you like," Nathan offered,

Lou shook her head,

"Nathan I have a guardian because of Mick's association with the Decepticons. I can't go anywhere without him at the moment. Especially now Mick is here. Do you have any children?" Lou replied,

"Me? No, married to the job," Nathan replied,

"Oh!" Lou back out toward the desert, a breeze caught her curly hair and it blew across her face. Nathan pushed the curl away from her face causing Lou to turn to look at him and smile,

"Nice hair," he said. Lou blushed,

"Thanks,"she replied with a smile.

They sat outside giggling and talking until it was almost evening. The sky was making its usual array of colours as the sun went down. Lou shivered as a cool breeze blew over them. Nathan gave her his jacket and placed it over her shoulders,

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

There was a sound of heavy footsteps coming around the corner; it was the midnight blue figure of Clash,

"It's time to come inside Lou," he said as he bent down to pick her up.

"Okay," Lou replied as she held onto his hand while he moved her into a more comfortable position,

"Can we meet again?" Lou looked at him and smiled,

"Yeah," she replied, "That would be nice," Clash looked at her and Nathan and smiled before taking her back inside.

"What?" Lou said to the big blue mech,

"Nothing!" he replied, "Just nice to see you talking with Captain Nathan Brown. You've had a nice afternoon Lou, it was good to see you enjoy yourself,"

"Thank you," she replied, she then looked at the mech thoughtfully, "How long were you watching me for?"

"I just asked Red to keep an eye on you every now and then. We can't be too careful at the moment Lou. There was a Decepticon hiding in your hospital room that night we brought you here. It has become even more important to me to keep you safe Lou. You have been through so much we don't want you going through anymore,"

"Thank you Clash," she replied as she hugged the big blue mech. He looked down at his tiny charge and pulled her closer into his chassis and hugged her with his big hand. He could feel his spark reacting to the friendship she was showing towards this big blue mech who she had grown to love and trust.

* * *

Optimus Prime and Prowl were going to be talking to Mick today. He was going to be accompanied by the Defence Secretary John Keller who would be there because Mick was human. John Keller was one of the few government officials who knew of the Autobots and had become a trusted help when it came to dealing with human/Autobot relationships, Prime believed that the Defence Secretary needed to be at the base as they dealt with the human. Mick had also planned this day to be the day he would escape, with the arrival of the secretary of defence he was sure he could use some sort of distraction.

Mick lay back in his bed there was no way he was going to be questioned by the Autobots. Oh no! As far as he was concerned he had done nothing wrong. He knew he had got involved with the Decepticons but he didn't know who they were when he started. The person who interviewed him who he now knows as Barricade appeared to be a harmless human. Sure he'd tried to hack into their systems but they didn't tell him whose system he was hacking into so as far as he was concerned he was innocent. He jumped off his bed and walked up to the camera,

"I'm innocent! You hear me? I'm innocent!" he yelled while waving his arms around,

"That's what we are going to find out," Prowl said to no one in particular.

Lou knew Mick was going to be questioned today she also knew that if there was ever to be a day where he'd attempt something, today would be the day. Clash and Bluestreak had both been briefed on the importance of keeping the family close to them. Nathan had offered to help the two Autobots with this. Lou had made her regular visit to see Ratchet who had put the lotion on her wound, it stung a little but after a while it settled down.

Lou was in Ratchet's med bay, he'd picked up on Lou's mood. She was not her usual happy self so he asked her if she was okay,

"I'm just a little worried," she replied, "Mick is being questioned today, I'm scared Ratchet. Scared for him and scared for myself and the children. What if he lies? What if he tries something?"

"Don't worry Lou you're completely safe and Prowl and Prime would know if he's lying. He may try something Lou but so long as you stay with Clash you'll be fine. Just trust us,"

"Yeah but I did when the Decepticons came and look what…"

"Lou there were many Decepticons and Mick only an insignificant human amongst Cybertronians," Ratchet replied sadly

Lou didn't like the thought of being an insignificant human, she looked up at Ratchet. He saw the look on her face and knew what she was thinking. He gently pushed a lock of her blonde curly hair away from her face,

"Lou, we don't see you as an insignificant human. Through all your torture with the Decepticons you stayed loyal to us. You have become a very trusted friend and we are going to do everything we can to keep you safe today. Decepticons are always a threat to us especially when something is happening here so we are prepared for anything which may happen,"

Lou looked at Ratchet; she nodded and smiled at the huge medic,

"Thank you Ratchet," she replied warmly.

Optimus Prime had called Defence Secreatry Keller and told him of the situation with Mick. . Red Alert was in the monitor room when he saw Defence Secretary Keller arrive and notified the Autobots of his arrival. Jazz, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were ready to escort him to the safety of the base. Mick was being taken to Optimus Prime's office at the same time.

When Mick found out the Defence Secretary was going to be there he thought he would be defended. He sat in Prowl's hand smirking to himself; this didn't go unnoticed as Prowl looked at the man and continued walking towards Prime's office. Clash was taking Lou out for the day, they were going to take a drive to Sam Witwicky's place and pick up her children then go onto the beach with the children. It would be better for Lou than staying in the base and the children were close to the end of their holiday. Clash had to pass Prowl to get to the main entrance of the base so when he saw the tactician walking towards them he couldn't avoid passing them,

"Behave!" Prowl warned Mick,

"Hey Lou," Mick yelled, "Once I've answered their questions you and I can leave and we can put all this behind us!" he looked at her with a cocky smile. Clash brought his hand up to protect her but Lou pushed it down,

"Hold on Clash," she said quietly, "Mick," she yelled, "You and I are not going to happen, you and I? e're over!"

After she said that she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulder. For a long time she had been wondering what to do about her future and whether Mick would be part of it. She relished the feeling of freedom that she had just gained and smiled unaware of what Mick was about to do. Prowl and Clash pass each other. Mick saw his opportunity and stood up ready to jump from Prowl's hand to Clash's hand, _"One, two, three, Now_" he yelled to himself and jumped. His actions were so quick it took the two mechs completely off guard. Neither of them thought he would try something so daring,

"Hey what are you doing?" Clash growled at the stubborn human, "You're going to injure your wife even more,"

Lou screamed as he grabbed her and the couple fell out of Clash's hand. Clash tried to catch them but they slipped through his fingers. Mick hit the floor first, Lou landed on top of him,

"I've got you now baby," he yelled victoriously as he roughly picked her up and grabbed her around her neck, his arm putting pressure on her shoulder,

"Owww!" she cried, "Mick stop it you're hurting me,"

"Clash and Prowl both bent down to pick the couple up,

"You will leave with me _wife!"_ he spat as he dragged her away from her guardian.

She felt herself being dragged across the floor; her plastered leg was dragged along the floor causing Lou to cry out in pain again. Clash tried to take Lou from Mick's grip but he moved Lou further from Clash's hand,

"Clash help me!" she screamed,

The two Autobots took a step towards the two humans. Mick felt another pair of arms try and pull his arm from Lou's neck,

"Mick Ferrier, let her go!" Nathan growled at Mick

"No!" he snapped, pulling his arms tighter around her shoulders and neck, "She's my wife!" he growled back,

"Not anymore!" Lou yelled through gritted teeth "Let me go!"

"Not likely darling. You're coming with me!" Mick growled,

"Mick Ferrier!" a voice yelled, "Let the woman go!"

Mick turned around to see who had just yelled at him and was shocked to find himself looking into the grey eyes of the Secretary of Defence,

"Help me!" Lou cried to the man,

"It's okay honey, Mick let her go," The S ecretary of D efence moved towards Mick who yanked Lou away from him,

"Mick you're not making this any easier for yourself. Now let your wife go before I have to go a step further,"

Mick stopped and thought for a minute. He decided there and then on the spot to escape without his wife . He let go of Lou and pushed her away from him, she tripped and fell onto the floor knocking her head on the hard metal. She lay there motionless as she tried to stop herself from fainting. Nathan got down beside her,

"You okay Lou, just lay there quietly," he said as he rubbed her back.

Clash and the Secretary of Defence kneeled down next to Lou w hile Prowl called Ratchet.

Mick saw how everyone was distracted by the blonde woman laying on the floor and took his opportunity to escape. Prowl saw him running and quickly opened his comm. Link,

"**Prisoner escaping. Secure t he base!"**

The doors shut just as he tried to slip through, giving Prowl the opportunity to catch the man,

"Got you!" he said as he picked Mick up and walked back towards Prime's office,

"You won't get away with this, the Secretary of Defence…"

"Is here because you are human. Don't assume that he is here to let you off because he's not, you will leave with him when we have spoken to you about your behaviour towards your wife,"

Prowl had now had enough of Mick and his attitude and couldn't wait to be rid of him. Mick couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He was at the mercy of the Autobots and there was nothing he could do about it and the one person who possibly could was in with them too,

"I might have known it'd be something like that," Mick deadpanned.

They finally got to Prime's office, Prowl keyed in the code and the doors swished open. Prowl stepped in and placed Mick on the desk in front of Optimus Prime and the Secretary of Defence. Optimus Prime looked down at Mick, he had heard what had happened and wasn't pleased with the man,

"Mick Ferrier, the way you behaved today has in no way helped with your claims of innocence. Your wife has gone through enough already,"

Mick felt lonely in Prime's office amongst the Autobot leader, the SIC and the Secretary of Defence. He sat down defeated on the desk, he was in trouble and his wife had told him she didn't want to be married to him anymore.

Ratchet turned up just as Nathan and Clash were helping Lou up. She turned to Nathan,

"Thank you," she said weakly, "And you too Clash," she said as she turned to the dark blue mech.

Ratchet bent down before Lou,

"Are you okay Lou?" he asked,

"I'm fine thanks Ratchet…I just want to go out with the children. Clash can we carry on to Judy and Ron's house,"

"Sure Lou," the mech replied and picked her up to contiinue going to the entrance of the base,

"Lou I'd like to check you over,"

"No, I'm okay Ratchet, if anything happens I'll call you,"

"That was quite a fall you had Lou, let me check you before you go. Actually I'd rather you didn't go out today..."

"No Ratchet! I'm fine. Let me go I don't want to disaapoint my children. They've been through enough as it is" Lou snapped at the medic. He was about to yell at her but Clash placed his hand on Ratchet's arm,

"I'll be with her and I'll call you if anything happens,"

Seeing that he was going to get nowhere Ratchet agreed and walked to Prime's office to check on Mick before he was questioned. After making Clash promise to stay with her and call him if something happened to her. Clash agreed and left with Lou.

The midnight blue mech transformed and they drove to the Witwicky's place,

* * *

In Optimus Prime's office Mick had undergone rigorous questioning. There were times when it got heated and Mick was beginning to feel the pressure. A couple of times he looked at the Secretary of Defence who merely told him to answer the questions. At the end of the questioning he was escorted to Prowl's office so John Keller and the Autobot leader could discuss the outcome and any punishment Mick had to meet. They were finally called back and Optimus Prime spoke to him first,

"Mick Ferrier," Mick looked up at the huge leader, "You had no right to treat Lou the way you did today. For that reason you will be in the brig for the night," Mick opened his mouth to answer but Prime held up his hand, "We do not condone violence on another person here Mick Ferrier. You committed a crime against us; you committed a crime against us by hacking into our systems to steal information for the Decepticons which they could have used for the distruction of the human race and your world. It is for this reason you will be handed over to the human authorities," Optimus Prime looked at the Defence Secretary,

"You had opportunities to escape the Decepticons but you refused which would suggest to us you were choosing to stay on their side making you an enemy to the Autobots and the human race. This makes you a dangerous person. I am going to recommend you spend your sentence under tight security in a maximum security prison. The police are coming to take you away, you will have an opportunity to say goodbye to your wife and children before you go. I believe they are on their way back now, is that right Optimus Prime," The Secretary of Defence looked to the Autobot leader who nodded in affirmation.

Clash turned around to Lou,

"We have to go back with the children Lou, Mick is being arrested by the police,"

"Oh okay," Lou replied.

She felt a great sadness when Lou heard Mick was being arrested. The mood inside Clash was sombre, neither of them saying anything. Even though Lou didn't want to move back with Mick and she wanted to file for a divorce she still felt sad; they had shared so much together and he was the father of her children It was the end of a season in her life and hopefully the end of anymore Decepticon threat over her and her children's life. Lou looked out of the back window; Bumblebee was following with Sam and Mikaela. They had decided to come back with Clash and his charge in case Marianne wanted support of her friends. Lou then looked down at her children who were sitting on either side of her when she felt a little hand pulling at her arm; it was Anna. Her face looked sad and confused,

"Why is daddy being arrested mummy," she asked quietly,

"Daddy has been very bad Anna. He is in a lot of trouble," Lou replied,

"What did he do Mummy?" she asked,

"I'll explain it to you one day sweetheart," Lou replied.

Marianne looked at Lou,

"We will be okay won't we mum?" she asked,

"Yes Marianne, we will," Lou replied. She then sighed heavily as she tried to keep the overwhelming emotions at bay, "You need to be brave Marianne,"

The teenager looked out of the window. Be brave! She was always being brave, she didn't want to be brave anymore. She wanted to scream, cry, even run away. Anything but be brave!

"I don't think I can anymore Mum," she replied sadly,

Lou looked over at her daughter and her heart broke as she watched Marianne disolve into tears,

"Mum," she simply cried, Lou pulled Marianne into a hug until they got back to the base.

* * *

The police were already at the Autobot base when they arrived. Mick was standing in between two officers his hands handcuffed behind his back. Lou got out of Clash looking at him but he didn't look at her. Prowl and Optimus Prime were stood there as well but John Keller had already left,

"Oh Mick," Lou whispered,

Mick looked up at his wife,

"Lou, I'm so sorry," he said quietly, "I shouldn't have treated you like that,"

Lou stood there not knowing what to do. Part of her wanted to go up to him and hug him and part of her wanted to walk away from him. She looked at the police,

"What will happen to him?"

"He will be arrested and tried by a special team who know of the transformers and then he will serve a sentence, Maam," Lou looked down and nodded,

"Daddy!" a little voice cried, "That's my daddy. Please don't take him from me," Anna cried.

Marianne held Anna's shoulders and led her away not daring to look at the man who'd let her down. Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee were outside the base talking with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker when Marianne and Anna went outside. Anna and Marianne walked towards the small group to join them, relieved to be away from the events inside the base. Anna started to play with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker when Mick was brought outside with the police closely followed by Lou. Sje felt so lonely standing there as she watched her husband placed in a police car when she felt an arm gently wrap around her and pull her into a hug,

"You'll be okay Lou, give yourself time. You'll be okay," Nathan said as Clash bent down and placed both his hands on her shoulders offering her support and comfort from both human and alien.

* * *

Whew! got there. One more chapter to write and then I'll do an epilogue.

Thanks for reading.


	15. Chapter 15

I have no ownership over the transformers except for my own characters.

Author's notes.

I didn't like how things had worked out in this chapter between Mick and Lou. It didn't seem right to put Mick in prison especially as he had committed no crime. He had only made a silly mistake and got caught in something much bigger and more gruesome then he knew about. Mick and Lou were both happily married and the children had a happy childhood and to take all that away from them didn't seem right. My thoughts and feelings were confirmed from a review I received, so thank you. I thought that writing this chapter this way would be much better and have a much nicer ending for Lou and Mick. There was a lot more freedom in writing it this way. So here is the edited version of chapter 15, hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter 15

Say goodbye and runaway.

It was 6 am in the morning and Marianne was still sleeping when she was rudely awoken by the excited squeals of her nearly nine year old sister, Anna. They had spent the night with the Witwickys because they were going into Tranquillity to pick up Ebony from the vets. The Doberman's wounds were healed and the fur had almost grown back hiding the scars from Starscream's cannon. Anna jumped out of her bed and onto Marianne's bed,

"Wake up, wake up," she squealed happily as she shook her sleepy sister,

Marianne groaned and pulled the covers over her head,

"No Marianne, don't hide," Anna whined.

Marianne peeped out from under her covers and checked the clock; it was only 6.15 am. She was still getting over her Dad being taken to jail by the police for his association with the Decepticons three days ago. They had been with Lou but Ron and Judy said they could stay so Lou didn't get wind of what was going on. They wanted t surprise Lou when she got back from the court,

"Anna, it's only 6.15 in the morning, and I've only got one week left of holiday. Please let me enjoy my last week of sleep ins before I have to get back into the routine of early rises and homework," Marianne croaked as she turned over and closed her eyes,

"Yeah but Marianne," Anna whined again as she tried to pull the covers away from her sleepy older sister, "I miss Ebony,"

Marianne growled quietly under her breath and held up her arm to invite Anna into her bed. She then hugged her younger sister until it was time to get up. If her life was still "normal" she'd have sent Anna to her parents' room so she could get some more sleep, but her life had become far from normal.

"We've all missed Ebony," Marianne replied sleepily,

"I miss daddy too," Anna whispered,

"Me too," Marianne replied.

Marianne remembered her visit to the hospital, she'd said many things to her father which hurt him. She lay in her bed trying to block the pictures of her Dad's shocked look on his face which kept appearing in her memory. Sometimes the teenager wondered if she had done the right thing, then Marianne would remember her life before all this started and found it easy to accept what she did; she believed her father had let her mother, her sister and herself down. A tear escaped the corner of her eye and plopped onto her hair. It was going to be hard without their Dad around; she wondered how they would cope once they had left the Autobot base, and their lives had returned back to normal, _"What's normal?" _the teenager thought to herself. Her normality had shifted and become a thing of the past.

Marianne lay there and tried as hard as she could to suppress the tears; she didn't want her sister seeing her cry, it would only upset her more.

Another hour passed before there was a knock at the door,

"Girls are you awake?" Mikaela's voice called.

"Yeah we are," Anna called,

The peaceful house was now coming back to life after the night. The morning still had a sleepy feel to it apart from the sound of chirping birds and Bluestreak as he turned up in Sam's front yard ready to take the girls. Anna put on her dressing gown and left the room to join the others downstairs. She went to the table and sat down next to Sam who ruffled her hair playfully,

"Hey where's Marianne," Mikaela asked,

"She's upstairs, she's crying," Anna replied,

"Oh dear," Judy replied sympathetically,

"I'll go and see if she's okay," Mikaela said and walked off upstairs, she met Marianne on the stairs who was now dressed and had her brunette hair tied back into a pony tail,

"You okay?" Mikaela asked her as she rubbed Marianne's back.

Marianne looked down at her shoes and quietly shook her head once again trying to fight back the tears. She so desperately wanted to speak to somebody but she didn't know who. Even though Sam and Mikaela had become friends of Marianne she still felt sad and lonely, after all who else had a jail bird for a father? Well her answer was nearby but this was a secret Mikaela didn't tell many people. Mikaela looked at Marianne,

"You know what Marianne after you've taken Ebony back to the base maybe Bee could take you and I back to the mall and we could do some shopping,

"Can't!" Marianne simply replied, "Mum has to go to the court, she's a witness,"

"Well maybe Sam's mum could look after Anna or Bluestreak...he is your guardian,"

Marianne smiled,

"I would like to get some things for school and some new clothes. Yeah okay," Marianne replied with a smile.

* * *

Lou slowly woke up from her peaceful sleep. She looked to where Marianne and Anna usually lay but they weren't there and wondered what her two daughters were up to. It was also the day of Mick's trial and Lou had become one of their key witnesses. It was going to be a heavy day for her and she was relieved that her children were at the Witwickys' house. She was going to be driven to the court by Clash with Ironhide, Prowl, Jazz, Sunny and Sideswipe as back up.

Lou really didn't want to do this; she really didn't want to go and be a witness against her husband, she was dreading seeing him again and wished there was some way she codul get out of this. There was a gentle knock at her door, she hobbled towards it and opened the door,

"Lou, are you ready? You need to go and see Ratchet before you go to the court" Clash said.

Lou sagged her shoulders, she really didn't see the need to go and see Ratchet either, her shoulder was healed thanks to the cream he'd given her and the plaster was coming off her leg next week; and then she would start her physio. Clash noticed this reaction and held out his hand; he knew Ratchet wasn't going to let her get away with not seeing him and so did Lou who obediently got up on his hand. She noticed Ironhide and the others in the arms room,

"What are they doing?" she asked,

"They are coming with us, extra security in case of Decepticon interference,"

"Oh" Lou replied, "Do you think there will be any?"

"We don't know Lou. Sometimes Decepticons attack and we are prepared, other times they seem to come from nowhere so we want to make sure that we are prepared just in case,"

* * *

Mick sat in his cell quietly, he'd been debriefed by his defence and all he had to do was wait for his guards to come and get him, he was dressed in a suit and cleaned up ready for his trial. He was told that the trial was going to be like a normal one but the judge and jury were very carefully picked; only people who knew of the transformers were chosen so there were no security leaks. He sat on his bunk feeling physically sick and fought hard to keep the contents of his stomach down. His life had taken a huge turn for the worse and there was nothing he could do about it. He'd lost everything; his house, his wife, his children and now his life was going to be taken away as a free man. Mick leaned forward and put his face in his hands.

What if he hadn't answered the advert in the first place; if only he had taken the first opportunity to escape when he could? The consequences of being a convicted criminal weighed heavily on the man's shoulder. There was no way out of this he could only go through it. He lifted his head and looked towards the ceiling of his cell and did something he'd never considered doing before. He prayed. He placed his hands in his face once again,

"Oh Mick Ferrier, you are such an idiot," he whispered to himself quietly.

Footsteps could be heard coming down the corridor, and the sound of the keys clanging as the owner of the footsteps approached his cell. His heart was pumping faster and harder as it beat the adrenalin through his body. Mick got up as the guard unlocked his cell, his knees felt so weak and wobbly he wasn't sure how long they'd be able to hold him up for. As he took a step forward he collapsed, the guard quickly moved forward and grabbed him by the arm,

"Come on," he said gruffly,

Mick was handcuffed and lead out of his cell and through the quiet corridors of the top security prison wing. The heavy door of his cell shut firmly behind him with a huge clang. Every step Mick took was a step closer to the fate that was waiting for him. He knew he would never be a free man, he knew that this was going to be an open and shut case which would eventually lead to incarceration for the rest of his life. He knew he'd be locked away. He thought about Barricade and the other Decepticons who had wooed him into a deadly web of lies and treachery. "_Huh, where are they now?"_ he thought to himself.

He was put into the waiting van and secured so that there would be no chance of escape then the van drove towards the court house through the back gate and along the streets with a heavily armed escort. He could hear the sirens of the police escort as they sped through Tranquillity, traffic stopped as they sped through the traffic lights. It would be dangerous for the van to stop at the lights in case of Decepticon hijacking. Finally they made it to the court house where he was taken inside to wait for the trial to begin.

* * *

Lou left Ratchet's med bay, he noticed how shaken and pale she looked and felt sorry for the frightened woman. He'd offered her a light sedative but Lou refused it in case it would compromise her ability to give evidence,

"Lou calm down," the medic scolded her, "You are going to be okay," but this was one time when no matter what he'd say no words would be comforting enough for her. She had to face her husband, give evidence against him and face a journey to the court house which could be marred with danger.

It was finally time to go; Clash picked her up from the med bay and walked her to the front door where he placed her on the ground and transformed into his vehicle mode. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see who it was,

"Nathan!" she exclaimed, "Where are you going?" she looked at the major who was dressed in a suit and tie,

"Well I'm coming with you," he said, "I have a friend who needs support so I am going to be there for her," he said seriously as he placed a hand on her other shoulder and looked into her blue eyes,

Lou felt herself blush; she hadn't blushed like that since she was a teenager and met Mick for the first time. She looked down and smiled,

"Thank you," she said quietly as she got into the front seat of Clash who had his door open ready for her.

The door of the base opened; OPtimus Prime walked up to the convoy,

"Autobots we don't know if the Decepticons know what is going on today so be on your guard. Mirage is at the courthouse already and he will notify me of your arrival. Roll out!" he said in his firm authoritative tone before he transformed and went with them. The Autobots left the base with Lou; the mood inside of Clash was quiet and sombre as she tried to calm herself. The journey into Tranquillity seemed to take ages and even though it was a pleasant day with the sun shining brightly, Lou still felt like she was under a storm cloud. Lou didn't notice anything happening outside,

"Don't worry Lou; we are all here with you," Clash reassured his charge.

They arrived in Tranquillity in good time. Clash pulled up outside the court house and opened the door for her to get out. Lou undid her seat belt than hesitated,

"I don't think I can go through with this," she said,

"Lou you have to, you're their key witness," Clash implored,

Nathan got out of the car and stood in front of her. He took a look at her, she looked grey and felt clammy,

"Okay Lou, just sit there for a few minutes and take deep breaths," Lou obediently did as she was told.

Nathan looked at her, her colour was coming back slowly, but her eyes were still full of fear,

"You ready?" he asked,

Lou quietly nodded her head and got out of Clash. She stood where she was and straightened herself out before entering the courthouse. A man greeted them and ushered them to a bench where she was told to sit until she was called. Nathan was told to go in to the court room,

"Lou, I'll be in there okay," Lou nodded and watched him as he disappeared behind the heavy oak doors. Nathan walked up the aisle and sat next to Will and Sarah, Epps and his wife and Judy and Ron,

"All rise," the marshall said as the judge entered.

Lou sat outside alone, she was shaking and felt very cold and lonely, running away was very tempting. A skinny man with sharp features, mousy hair which was going grey over the ears and balding on the top of his head looked at Lou with piercing grey eyes,

"Mrs. Ferrier," Lou looked up at him slowly, he reminded her of her Dad a little bit,

"Yes sir," she said quietly,

"They have called you in, could you come with me please?" he asked as he turned and walked away.

Lou went with the clerk and walked through the heavy oak doors. This was it! She silently walked in every breath and every heartbeat louder than the one before. The walk up the aisle seemed to go on forever and she felt conspicuous as every eye stared at her. She turned to the side and saw Nathan sitting next to Will then she saw the whole reason for her being there…Mick. "_Come on Lou, you can do this,"_she said to herself as she took every step closer to the box. Her legs were feeling like jelly and she almost collapsed. A man quickly grabbed her arm and steadied her and when she looked into his pale blue eyes she instantly recognised him to be Ratchet. A police officer took her to the box where she was given a bible and asked to say the oath. Lou took a deep breath and spoke slowly and steadily as she repeated the oath and confirmed her name. The first question was from the prosecution; a smartly dressed woman in a red suit and brunette hair tightly pulled back into a bun and glasses stood up,

"Mrs. Ferrier can you tell the court your account of the events leading up to Mick Ferrier starting the new employment,"

Lou looked at Mick, he sat there looking at her, and he seemed so small in the seat between his defence attorney and the officer on the other side. She started her account from the beginning when he first saw the advert, how she suggested researching the company and how they argued about him taking it.

"Thank you Mrs. Ferrier," the defence attornney stood up and sauntered towards Lou with a smirk on his face,

"Mrs. Ferrier do you often have disagreements with your husband?" Lou looked at him in disbelief. What sort of a question was that? Ooh she was going to have fun with this one,

"No I don't. Do you have disagreements with your wife?" snickers could be heard from the court and the judge slammed his gavel on the desk. He looked at Lou,

"Mrs. Ferrier may I remind you that when being questioned you show respect to the court," he said firmly,

"Yes your honour," she replied quietly, "Sorry,"

Lou looked at the defence attorney,"No sir, we didn't often have arguments,"

"What about now?" he asked, "_Oh here we go!" _Lou thought,

"We aren't on talking terms anymore," Lou replied sadly,

"Why is that?" he asked,

Lou looked at him dangerously, the prosecution stood up,

"Objection!" she yelled, "Badgering the witness,"

"Sustained," the judge called out.

He then looked at the defence and asked if there were any further questions,

"No sir," and he sat down.

Most of the questions were easy to answer until she got to the first one that was about her first meeting with the Decepticons. Lou looked at her,

"I…I…" Lou looked down,

"Mrs. Ferrier take your time," the judge said gently,

Lou slowly talked about that morning with Jodie, the town screaming and running, the chase into the alleyway being very careful with her wording. She could hear the events going through her, her screams, her voice imploring Jodie to run. As Lou looked around she noticed Jodie's absence in the court, she also saw the expression of horror on Mick's face as he listened to her account of that fateful morning. Then it was the defence's turn. A stocky, short, balding man with tiny green eyes came and stood in front of Lou,

"Mrs. Ferrier have you met the Decepticons before this?"

"No sir," she replied,

"But…surely you're husband talked about his work or maybe suggested you meet him at lunchtime. Maybe you had a meeting prior to this, maybe you met one of them before all this….Maybe you set this all up,"

"What? No he didn't. I never knew about the Decepticons or Autobots and why would I want to set him up like that? I loved him," Lou replied vehemently with tears in her eyes

"You…loved him. Don't you love him now?" the defence asked,

"_Stupid Lou!" _she hissed to herself. She shut her eyes then opened them again and glared at the man she once called her husband,

"No I don't," she said darkly, Mick looked down at the desk sadly and massaged his face with his hands. This was not the time or place he wanted to hear this.

"Why not?"

"Objection," the prosecution's voice yelled,

"Over ruled. Answer the question please," Lou sighed,

"Could you? Could you love somebody who has become deceitful and uncaring? Could you love somebody who has torn your whole life apart? It wasn't long after he started to work for the Decepticons before he changed. I didn't know why then," Lou started to sob, "I lost everything, my husband, my home, my marriage and nearly my life. My children and I can't go anywhere without fear of being attacked, need I go on?"

"No Mrs. Ferrier," the defence said quietly before he sat down wondering what kind of a man he was defending?

* * *

The four teenagers left Sam's house. It was going to be an exciting day but fraught with anxiety as they thought of Lou giving evidence. Marianne and Anna sat in the back of Bluestreak both very quiet. Blue didn't know what he could say to cheer them up and decided to say nothing. They turned into the car park behind the vets surgery, Blue parked next to Bee and they watched the three teenagers and Anna walk towards the surgery,

The receptionist greeted them with a happy smile,

"You come to get Ebony?"

"Yes we have," Anna replied her face beaming with happiness.

The receptionist picked up the phone and called for the nurse to bring out Ebony. They were greeted by a young man in a green uniform with Ebony,

"Hello Ebony," the two girls cooed as they stroked her, Ebony's tail wagged excitedly from side to side as she licked their faces; they laughed happily causing everybody in the surgery to smile,

"This is the best day ever," Anna exclaimed as they gave the surgery a little thank you gift for saving Ebony's life and left the building. They walked across the car park Sam, Mikaela and Anna just in front of Marianne who was putting her purse back into her bag while Anna was walking with Ebony. All of a sudden a roar of an engine could be heard at the same time a horn was blaring out. Mikaela turned around and saw Barricade moving toward Marianne at great speed,

"Marianne watch out!" she screamed.

Marianne looked up and froze as Barricade continued hurtling towards her. Bluestreak and Bee immediately moved forward, Bee deliberately drove into the side of Barricade knocking him out of the way before he had time to transform. Bluestreak opened the door for Marianne who jumped in,

"Anna get in," she screamed at her frightened sister. Anna raced to Blue who met her and Ebony who was barking furiously,

"I want my Muuuuuummmmmmmmmyyyyyyy," Anna wailed,

"Blue get us out of here," Marianne cried,

"**To the base,"** Bee yelled at the older Autobot. They both left the car park, tyres screeching and raced through the streets of Tranquillity, back towards the base. Bee radioed on ahead to let the Autobots who were not at the court know they were coming in with a Decepticon hot on their tails.

It wasn't long before they got to the base safely. Barricade had given up the chase but neither Blue nor Bumblebee let up with the speed in case they were ambushed along the way. Hound, Red Alert, Wheeljack and Perceptor waited armed and ready for a fight at the entrance to the base but the threat had gone. They drove into the base where they the two Autobots transformed and Mikaela hugged Anna who was still crying. First Aid came up to the small party,

"Anybody hurt?"

"No," Bluestreak snarled, "It was just an intimidation tactic, trying to get at Lou through her children,"

He looked down at Marianne who was still quiet and looked pale,

"You alright?" he asked her gently. Marianne nodded, "I just want it to end, when will it all end?" Bluestreak scooped up his tiny charge,

"Don't know youngling," he said sadly and pulled her closer to his chassis as she sobbed quietly. Marianne heard strange clicks and whines coming from the shiper, she didn't understand what he was doing or saying to her but she felt strangely comforted by the noises coming from him.

The court had gone into recess for the day and Lou was allowed to go back to the base,

She got back inside Clash who drove off closely followed by Ironhide, Jazz and Prowl. Lou looked out of the window,

"This isn't the normal way we go," she said,

"No Lou it isn't but Barricade has been making his presnece known so we are going this way," Clash replied

As they got to the base there was a strange silence, Lou looked around puzzled,

"Where is everybody?" she asked as she got out of Clash,

Nathan smiled as he heard the familiar sounds of the transformers movements. They knew what was going on and were waiting for the happy moment. The corrugated door to the base creaked open and a Doberman came bounding towards the blond, her black fur shining in the bright sunlight,

"Ebony!" Lou exclaimed happily as she crouched down as best as she could and greeted the dog. Ebony muzzled Lou's hand her tail wagging ferociously from side to side,

"So...this is Ebony," Nathan inquired, "Hello there, I've heard all about you," he said as he stroked the dog's head, Ebony looked up at him her tail wagging and her tongue hanging out at the side as she panted. She loved the attention and lapped every bit of it up,

"Little runt," Ironhide muttered, earning himself a good dig in the side by Ratchet.

He looked at the medic annoyed by his actions and moved off muttering to himself. Marianne ran towards Lou,

"Mum!" she cried as she fell into Lou's arms,

Lou pulled Marianne's face away from her chest,

"What happened?" Lou asked as she stroked her daughter's hair,

"Barricade nearly hurt Marianne," Anna replied,

"Oh Marianne," Lou said quietly, "Are you okay?" Lou asked as she stroked her daughter's head and checked her over,

"Yeah Mum, I'm fine. Can I go shopping with Mikaela?" Marianne looked at Lou hopefully,

"I don't know if that's so wise honey. Barricade could still be out there," stroked her daughters hair away from her face and noticed how long it had become.

Bumblebee stepped forward with Mikaela, "She'll be fine Mrs. Ferrier we'll look after her," Mikaela reassured Lou,

"Please mum," Lou looked at her older daughter and smiled,

"Go on," she said, "Have a nice time,"

Marianne gave Lou a huge hug and nearly knocked her mum over. Nathan quickly caught her and made sure she was steady,

"Oh Mum!" Marianne cried, "I'm so sorry,"

"That's fine," Lou huffed as she tried to hide the pain.

"Come on," Mikaela called to Marianne.

The brunette teenager ran toward Bee and jumped in the back of him. The yellow mech drove off towards Sam's house and then the Mall. Lou watched them go,

"Please be safe," she said quietly.

Jazz overheard Lou and walked up to her,

"Don't worry Bee and Mikaela will take care of her," Lou looked up at the silver autobot, he had a reasuring look on his face but she still feflt worried for the safety of her daughter,

"Thank you Jazz, I hope so" Lou replied as she took Anna's hand and walked with her into the base with Ebony beside them.

It was busy down at the mall, Marianne and Mikaela had spent quite awhile there but it was nearly closing time and neither Mikaela or Marianne were ready to go home,

"Shall we go to the lookout?" Mikaela said with a smile, "It will be really nice to sit there and watch the sun go down,"

Marianne looked at her friend,

"Yeah, okay," she said happily.

They walked back to Bee who was sitting quietly in the car park. He watched the girls as they returned with his scanners on but there wasn't a Decepticon about,

"Hi Bee, can you take us to the lookout?" Mikaela asked as she sat in the front of the Camaro,"

"Sure can," Bee replied and took off.

At the lookout it was quiet and calm. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the white fluffy clouds were glowing an amber colour from the setting sun. The rest of the sky was deep blue to aquamarine causing the first few stars to shine brightly in the sky. A shooting star shot across the sky and every now and then an insect would quickly flutter by trying to escape the bats. The girls got out of Bee and sat at the front against his fender looking out towards the mountains,

"Marianne, I'd like to tell you something but can you keep it secret?" Mikaela asked solemnly not really sure if she could trust Marianne,

"Yes I can," Marianne replied seriously. She looked at Mikaela,

"My dad is in prison," Marianne looked at Mikaela.

"Seriously!" Marianne asked,

"Yes seriously," Mikaela replied, "He's my only parent,"

"Oh...sorry," Mikaela shrugged her shoulders, "It's tough," she replied.

The black haired teenager suddenly looked at Marianne, "Oh look, I shouldn't have told you this. Please don't say anything," she pleaded, "Not many people know, only Sam, Bee and Prime know,"

Marianne looked at Mikaela, she was very good at keeping secrets but worried how safe her secret would be and what would happen if it ever got out. Mikaela looked at Marianne; it was almost as if she'd read Marianne's mind,

"Don't worry Marianne, I won't tell anybody what your Dad has done or that he is in prison. I know what it is like to have a father locked away. It always worried me if somebody found out, especially in school...secrets don't stay safe there,"

There was a moments silence, all that could be heard were the crickets "I was really mean to my dad when he was in hospital. I disowned him," Marianne said sadly,

"Oh Marianne," Mikaela whispered as she put her arm around Marianne's shoulders,

Mikaela and Marianne sat there for a while with their arms around each other enjoying the solidarity that had formed between the two girls. They sat there for a long time and it had become dark at the lookout. Bee didn't want to disturb the girls but he was the only one out there and as much as Mikaela hated to admit it; they were vulnerable,

"Time to go," Bumblebee said quietly.

Mikaela looked around, it was dark apart frm the silvery light blanketing the landscape from the full moon; even Bumblebee's yellow paint and black stripes had taken on the silver coating of the moonlight. They were out in the middle of nowhere. Bumblebee opened his doors so Mikaela and Marianne were able to get in. Bee started his engine and pulled away quickly heading back to the base. Marianne's phone rang disturbing the silence inside the Camaro,

"Hi Mum, we're on our way back...Yeah see you soon,"

Bumblebee dropped Marianne off at the base first and opened the door for Marianne to get out. Before Marianne got out of the car she looked at Mikaela,

"How do you cope?" Mikaela looked at her puzzled at her question, "Without a dad I mean,"

Mikaela shrugged her shoulders, "Just do," she smiled at the brunette teenager, "Marianne, you'll be okay, we are all here for you,"

"And that includes me," Bee replied, "And the rest of the Autobots,"

"Thank you," Marianne said quietly and smiled before she headed toward the entrance of the base. Mikaela watched her walk through the doors which closed behind her,

"Let's go home Bee," the yellow Camaro started his engine and drove off.

* * *

The trial had been going for quite a while and it was now drawing to a close, the court had heard the closing arguments and the jury was now deliberating their decisions. Lou was beginning to get anxious as more time went by but the phone call never came. Clash was finding it very hard to keep his charge calm. Ratchet suggested she have a sedative when she went to make one of her daily visits to make sure everything was on track for having her plaster off. This particular time she was quite anxious and Ratchet was beginning to get quite annoyed with the woman,

"Lou, calm down," he barked at her,

"Calm down, what do you mean calm down. I'm calm," Lou snapped back,

"No you're not," Ratchet snipped, "Settle down before I give you a sedative,"

"Don't need one and why do I have to keep coming in here anyway. You're paranoid Ratchet, humans heal quickly," Ratchet glared at the feisty woman, he'd been called many things but paranoid was not one of them. He slammed his fist on the berth making Lou jump,

"Don't you ever call me paranoid again human or you will see a side of me that my patients never see," Ratchet growled.

Lou glared back at the medic challenging him to rise up when the door to the med bay flew open and the twins raced in. Ratchet who was already in a bad mood from Lou grabbed his wrench and threw it at them,

"Hey Ratch what was that for, we just came to let Lou know they've made their decision," Sideswipe replied while rubbing his helm,

"What..." Lou replied and got up from the berth,

"Not so fast, femme," Ratchet growled, "You don't go anywhere until I tell you you can,"

"Ratchet let me go this is my husband," Lou screamed at him,

"No!" he snapped as his huge fingers tightened around her small waist preventing Lou from struggling. Lou pushed her hands down on his fingers and tried to pull herself up but she was stuck firmly. She looked up at the smirking medic and gave up her fight,

"Good" he replied as he put down his scanner and laid her back on the berth, "Let's try this again,"

Lou lay ther patiently waiting for the medic to release her. Her heart beating fast as she contemplated the jury's verdict,

"All done, your plaster can come off tomorrow," Ratchet said as he lifted her off the berth and handed her to Sideswipe,

"You taking her to the court?"

"Yes we are" Sideswipe replied, "Clash is on patrol today with Jazz,"

Sideswipe walked out of the med bay with her closely followed by Sunstreaker,

"Giving ol Ratchet the Hatchet a hard time," Sunstreaker asked her with a smirk.

A wrench came flying up behind the yellow frontline warrior with deadly accuracy,

Clang!

"Ow!" Sunstreaker snapped,

"Ratchet stop throwing wrenches," Lou yelled at the medic,

Ratchet took off after the two Autobots and the audacious human,

"Run!" Sideswipe yelled.

They ran through the corridors with the medic following closely behind them. Optimus Prime was in the rec room enjoying a cube of energon and a private conversation from Elita through his spark; she had announced their imminent arrival, _"Oh no,"_ the Autobot leader groaned and shut off his comm. Link leaving Elita wondering what was going on,

The twins finally got to the entrance and pulled off in a hurry leaving Ratchet to explain what happened,

"**I'll get you,"** he snarled at Sideswipe through his comm. Link,

"**Look forward to it,**" Sideswipe replied then laughed. Ratchet growled and stomped back to his med bay closely followed by Prime who was wondering what had his medic so annoyed.

They got into the court house just in time before the jury came in. Lou was still smirking from running away from Ratchet but she quickly became serious as the judge walked in, closely followed by Mick and his escort. The judge looked towards the jury,

"Have you finally reached a decision?" he asked sarcastically, he believed this man was innocent of any crime he was accused of really had no sentence to serve.

The judge looked at the clerk who collected the verdict. Lou sat in between Sunstreaker and Sideswipe with baited breath, she unintentionally grabbed Sideswipe's hand. Normally it would have been Mick's hand and he would have squeezed hers back with reassurance but he wasn't by her side. Sideswipe wasn't used to this he looked at her, her expression proudly showing the emotions surging through the blond. He took his other hand and placed it over hers and looked at her with a reassuring smile. The judge looked at Lou then at Mick,

"Mick Ferrier, please rise,"

Mick stood up with his defence attorney on one side and a guardian on the other. His legs were shaking and every muscle in his body was tense, he could feel his hearrt fluttering in his chest as they waited with baited breath at the words about to come out of the judges' mouth. The defence attorney looked at him and shook his head, he knew the case hadn't gone well for him and he knew what the verdict would be,

"You have been found innocent," Mick looked up at the judge, relief flooded him as he tried to believe what he had just heard; he was expecting a guilty verdict. Lou couldn't believe it, she sat there stunned by the verdict. There were murmerings going on in the court, the judged banged his gavel on the table, "Order!" he yelled then looked back at Mick, "All you did was answer an innocent advert in a paper. You had no reason to suspect any sort of malevolence behind it due to your or your wife's lack of knowledge of the transformers race being on earth. You were incredibly foolish to believe everything would be okay when you found out who they were and accepted no help but for that there is no crime. You are therefore free to go after you and your wife have signed the official secrets document. Whether you choose to have any further involvement with the Autobots is up to you but be warned any further involvement with the Decepticos will result in future prosecutions. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," Mick replied meekly.

"Good," the judge replied as he banged his gavel on the desk, "The case is now closed,"

Lou looked down as a tear escaped her eye. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this, she had been prepared for the worst news not for this. Sideswipe removed his hand from Lou's and placed his arm around her shoulder while Sunny took her hand. The judge got up and left the court leaving Mick in the court standing alone. His attorney looked at him and shook his hand, the pair then left together, smiling. Pleased with the second chance he'd just been given.

Lou looked up at the brunette holoform,

"I need to speak to him,"

"Yeah let's go," Sideswipe said as he led Lou out of the door.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker lead her out of the court and down the steps and towards the red Lamborghini parked nearby. They passed Mick on the steps, Lou stopped and looked at her husband,

"Mick...I...uhm," she suddenly threw her arms around Mick nearly sending them both tumbling down the steps and burst into tears. Ever so slowly Mick raised his hands and held onto the sobbing woman,

"I'm so sorry," she cried,

"It's alright baby, it's okay. We'll sort this out," It was so nice to have his wife in his arms again. He stroked her hair and kissed her head as he rested his chin on her.

"Lou," he said slowly, his voice shaky, "I'm so sorry, I don't know what else to say," a tear rolled down her face.

Lou nodded her head as tears continued to roll down her face. She silently looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek. It was now over! As she opened the door she collapsed into a heap the last thing she heard was Mick calling her name.

Lou woke up and found herself laying on a hard surface, she could hear bleeps all around her and a cuff was tightening around her arm. She was confused and tried to sit up but a hand pushed her back down,

"You're alright Lou," a reassuring voice told her, "Just give yourself a minute,"

"She fainted, probably caused by too much stress," a paramedic replied quietly, her blood pressure is a bit high which can happen "She will be alright maybe a sedative and a good sleep will help her. We'll take her to the hospital so they can keep her under observation. What she's gone through is enough to cause even the calmest of people stress,"

"No hospital," she cried, "Take me back to the base please?" she asked as she looked up at the paramedic. He looked at the two men with her,

"What does she mean the base? You army?" the first paramedic asked,

"Something like that," Sunstreaker replied, "We can take her back, she'll be okay with us,"

"Okay," the paramedic replied as he took the cuff off her and stopped the heart monitor unconvinced this was such a good idea.

Sunstreaker picked her up and carried her to his yellow Lamborghini vehicle mode and drove off with Sideswipe,

"Where is Mick?" Lou asked Sunstreaker,

"He's with Optimus Prime; he came to collect him after we told him the verdict, he's taking Mick back to the base as you have nowhere to live at the moment and Mick could be vulnerable from Decepticon attack," the yellow mech replied sombrely.

Back at the base Marianne and Anna were waiting anxiously for their mum to return. Ratchet had heard about what happened and told Sideswipe to keep her calm and let her rest. Clash and Nathan were waiting for her outside the base, the others were carrying on with their normal business. Sunstreaker looked at her seriously,

"You'll need to tell your children soon,"

"I know," Lou replied,

"Here's Nathan and Clash. Sunny and I have to see Ratchet because of this morning,"

"I'll have to apologise to him too," Lou said.

Sunny looked at her before opening the door, she looked exhausted and relieved. He opend his door to let her so he could transform. Nathan and Clash stood beside her. Nathan wrapped his arms around her, she held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked back to her quarters. A patter of little feet could be heard running down the corridor,

"Mummy," Anna sang as she ran towards Lou with her arms held out on either side of her. Lou sat on the bed and hugged her younger daughter. Marianne watched Anna apprehensively waiting for Lou to turn to her. Lou looked at her older daughter and held out her arm,

"Come here Marianne," Marianne walked up to her mum and allowed herself to be hugged,

"Girls, listen to me. I have something very important to say..."

"Dad's in prison isn't he mum," Marianne interjected. Lou didn't say anything, "Answer me Mum," Marianne insisted, her voice shaking,

"No Marianne, he isn't"

Marianne burst into tears and ran off out of the family's quarters, she stopped and leaned against a door post still sobbing. Footsteps were coming down the corridor; the last thing the teenager wanted was to face somebody and tell them what happened so she ran off again. She ran down the corridor as fast as she could not loking where she was going,

"Mummy, is it true?" Anna asked as she looked up at Lou from her position on Lou's knee,

"Yes it is Anna," Lou replied, as she straightened her 8 year old daughter's clothes out. Clash approached the small family and wrapped his arms around them,

"Will daddy come back and live with us?" Lou looked at Anna, her eyes were so full of hope. It would be a long road to reconcilliation but Lou wasn't sure she wanted to give everything up . Maybe they could get it back again. Besides she didn't want the Decepticons to have a victory through her marriage being broken and they were such a happy family before all this happened,

"I don't know darling," Lou watched the expression of hopefulness slowly disappear from her younger daughter's face. It tore Lou apart. Clash drew her closer to himself as he felt her body shudder with every sob.

"Uhm...I'll go and find Marianne," Bluestreak said quietly and left.

Jazz was in his office when he heard the patter of footsteps running past. He looked up from his data pad and went outside. As he did Marianne ran into his leg and fell backwards on the floor hurting her backside,

"Ow" she cried, What did you do that for?" Jazz looked at her puzzled as to why she'd ran into him then blame him for falling over. He looked down at her and noticed her red puffy eyes,

"What's up baby girl?" he asked. Marianne didn't know what to do, she stood there in front of him sobbing. Marianne felt so alone right now, a loneliness that stabbed the very centre of her heart. The silver saboteur bent down so he was optic to eye with her,

"Ahh Marianne, not good news huh?" the teenager didn't respond,

Jazz gently wrapped his fingers around her back and drew her toward him. Marianne's feet reluctantly moved in the direction that Jazz was moving her in, he picked her up and held her close to his chassis. Marianne snuggled in still sobbing; he carried her into his office as he continued to comfort her and sat down in his seat. Marianne drifted off to sleep snuggled in the security of Jazz's hand.

* * *

It was 5 o'clock in the morning when Marianne woke up in her own bed . She looked around her quarters, everybody was sleeping soundly. Marianne got up and crept around the quarters angry that her mum and sister could sleep so peacefully when her dad was alone_. _She had no idea he'd been brought back to the base, if she did she would have crept in with him. Marianne quietly got dressed and packed her back pack, she then left a note for her mum.

_Sorry mum. I can't take this anymore, I don't want to live without my dad around. I am going to live with Aunty Mary and Uncle Sam in New York._

_Love you heaps mum._

_Marianne. xxx._

She left the message on the chair which was next to Lou's bed and crept out of their quarters and towards the entrance of the base. The Autobots that had been on patrol all night were coming and the others were going out. Marianne crept out in the shadows so as not to be seen and left.

The sun hadn't come up come yet but the sky was already beginning to reflect the sun's early morning rays, spewing colours of red and yellow as it rose above the mountains; which were silhouetted against the early morning light with gold and yellows lighting the vegetation. Stars were fading against the deep azure sky lighting up as the sun made its daily journey across the sky. A few birds were floating on the thermals looking for prey and a gentle cool breeze blew against Marianne. It was refreshing.

She silently crept past the mechs that were leaving or entering the base making sure she kept to the shadows. As she walked along the path leading to the base she heard the doors close. Marianne was alone now. She felt a new sort of freedom and wild excitement as she continued to walk away from the base. She had a mobile phone on her which she threw away carelessly and continued to walk along the path. But then she stopped and thought about the consequences of not having her phone with her and walked back and picked it up. The brunette teenager then carried on walking through the desert. She looked behind her, the base was shining in the golden glow of the early morning sunlight. Suddenly Marianne felt lonely and thought about going back but decided against it.

Lou had slept peacefully most of the night but in the early hours she was a lot more restless. Her alarm went off at its normal time, its shrill noise disturbing the peacefulness of the early morning. Lou groaned and hit the alarm with her hand. She then looked around the room; Anna was sleeping peacefully but Marianne's bed was empty. Her blue eyes snapped open,

"Marianne?" she called but there was no answer. Lou lay back down thinking she'd just gone to the bathroom and decided to wait a few more minutes before getting worried. Lou lay in her bed slowly waking up, expecting her oldest daughter to walk through the door any minute but nothing happened. Finally she decided to get up and threw the covers back from her bed causing the letter to flutter behind the chair. Lou hurriedly threw her hair back, put on a denim skirt and a light blue t-shirt and quickly hobbled out of her room. Bluestreak was coming the other way; he noticed how concerned Lou was looking,

"Hi Lou, what's wrong?"

Lou looked up at the sniper and lost her balance. She nearly fell backwards but he quickly bent down and caught her,

"Easy there," he said gently as he picked her up, "What's wrong Lou? You don't seem to be yourself today. Shall I take you to see Ratchet?"

"No Bluestreak, I don't need see Ratchet. I am seeing him next week when he takes my plaster off. Have you seen Marianne?"

"No I haven't. Let's ask Jazz she was with him most of the evening yesterday,"

Bluestreak carried Lou to Jazz's office and knocked on the door.

Jazz had gone to his office early so he could catch up on datapads, he looked up when he heard the knock,

"Yo come in," he called in his usual happy manner,

Bluestreak walked in with Lou in his hand. She looked around his office it was so neat and organised. He had a desk with two piles of datapads; one pile for out and one pile for in Lou assumed. Another thing Lou liked about his office was the friendly feeling it had. She imagined anybody going in to speak to the 3IC would feel immediately at ease with his friendly character and welcoming atmosphere. Jazz stood up and walked towards the couple.

"Hi you two what can I do for you?" he asked with a smile, the he noticed how dishevelled Lou looked and the concerned look on her face. His smile quickly disappeared and he looked at her seriously,

"What's happened Lou?" he asked,

"Have you seen Marianne since last night?" she asked,

"No I haven't. I took her back to your quarters, she said goodnight and went in. Why?"

"She's not there now, she wasn't when I woke up but I thought she'd just gone to the bathroom. I've been up for two hours now and she's still not around," Lou replied,

"Have you checked all over the base?" Jazz asked,

"We're going to do that next," Bluestreak replied, "I thought we'd ask you first Jazz because she was with you last night,"

"Okay, you two continue searching the base, I'll alert the others she's missing," Jazz said as he activated his comm. Link.

Optimus Prime was the first to answer Jazz. He walked to his 3IC's office and knocked on the door,

"Enter," Jazz called,

"What's wrong Jazz? the leader asked,

"Marianne is missing," Jazz replied, "We are looking for her now around the base but as of yet I haven't heard anything,"

"Okay," Prime replied, "We'll keep searching for her round the base,"

"Yes sir," Jazz replied.

Optimus Prime looked around at Lou, he saw how frantic Lou was becoming and promised himself he'd d everthing he could to reunite the mother and daughter,

"Don't worry little one, we'll find her," Lou inwardly cringed at being called "Little one" but didn't say anything because to them she was little and it seemed to be a term of affection to them,

"Thank you Optimus Prime," she politely replied.

Bluestreak took Lou out of Jazz's office and carried her through the base. Every single mech was frantically searching for Marianne. Sunstreaker saw the sniper with Lou,

"We'll find her Lou, we promise," Sunstreaker said.

Clash walked up to Bluestreak and looked down at his charge. He noticed how she wasn't looking her usual self but didn't mention anything to her, he thought it understandable in view of the circumstances,

"Hey Lou, Y'okay," he asked,

"Marianne's missing," Lou replied,

"We'll find her Lou, "

Lou shrugged her shoulders and then rubbed her face with her hands. Her family had always been her security and now with Mick in prison that security had been taken away from her. Lou had overlooked this need of Marianne's and started to feel guilty. Lou looked at Clash,

"I need to get back to Anna, she will be wondering where I am if she's woken up,"

"I'll take you to your quarters," the midnight blue mech replied as he picked up Lou from Bluestreak's hand,

"Will you stay with me Clash...please?" Lou's guardian looked at her, she looked at him. She had an expression on her face which he'd never seen before. She looked almost... ashamed,

"Lou you okay?" she didn't answer him. He stroked her cheek, "Lou," he called again more firmly. She looked up at him startled by his loud voice,

"Yeah," a lock of blond curly hair fell out of the rough bun she'd put her hair up in earlier. Lou pushed it backup and forced it back into the bun but it fell out again,

"Lou, are you alright sweetheart?" Clash asked again. Lou looked down,

"N-n-no Clash. I just need to get back to Anna," Lou replied.

Sideswipe walked into Jazz's office without knocking. The silver saboteur looked up at him,

"Sorry sir," Jazz shook his head and waved him in,

"We've looked everywhere but we can't find her. One of the Autobots coming in from patrol noticed a small shadow heading out towards the desert but they thought it was an animal," Sideswipe said,

"They would have no reason to think anything else," Prime said,

"I will contact Bee and Ironhide and get them to look for Marianne," Jazz said, "We need to be careful because if Lou gets wind of this she'll panic,"

"Maybe somebody should tell her," Sideswipe suggested.

Prowl walked into Jazz's office,

"Red Alert checked the security cameras. Marianne was caught on camera with a rucksack walking in the direction of the entrance,"

Everybody in the office turned to Prowl in disbelief. Nobody could believe that she would attempt to runaway, especially after her run in with Barricade,

"Oh no!" Prime replied,

"We need to let Lou know," Jazz said,

"I'll talk to her," Sideswipe said, "She's with Clash at the moment,"

"I'll come with you," Prowl said as he turned to leave the office,

Prowl and Sideswipe left Jazz's office both aware of the anxiety this news will cause Lou,

"Maybe we should call Ratchet," Sideswipe said,

"No," Prowl replied, "We don't want to alarm her too much,"

Ratchet was going about his work in the med bay when Bluestreak came in,

"Bluesteak!" he exclaimed, "What's wrong?"

"Marianne has disappeared, it's my fault," Ratchet sat Blue down at his desk and sat opposite him,

"How so?" he asked,

"I wasn't looking after her. I should have known she would do this. I should have known her father's imprisonment would affect her,"

"Bluestreak, how should you have known? Did she tell you anything?"

"No," the sniper replied still upset at his failure as a gardian to Lou's children.

Ratchet took his hands,

"Bluestreak, you have not failed as a guardian. You have been a good guardian to those girls and Lou really appreciates the way you've protected them. Marianne is17, she chose to leave the base. Bluestreak Marianne is hurting terribly at the moment and so are Lou and Anna, we need to find Marianne and bring her back safely. Her security has been rocked over these last few months. Don't give up on them Bluestreak you're doing well. Trust me I wouldn't say if it wasn't true,"

"Yes sir," Bluestreak replied quietly

* * *

Ironhide was sitting in the front of the Lennox's home when he heard Jazz's voice over his comm. Link with the news that Marianne had disappeared, "_Frag! Now I have to wake up my family,"_ the weapons specialist thought to himself. He reluctantly blared his horn and flushed his lights. Will jumped out of bed swearing at the black truck under his breath. Annabelle woke up as well much to Sarah's disgust. Will stomped down the stairs, even though Ironhide had been with them for two years he still wasn't used to these occasional noisy alarms first thing in the morning. He opened the door and walked up to Ironhide shaking his fists and yelling at his guardian. Ironhide narrowed his eyes and growled at the human, waiting for him to stop his rampage which wasn't going to happen any time soon,

"Major Lennox," he yelled at the small human.

Will stopped instantly, when Ironhide referred to him as Major Lennox he had something important to say,

"Marianne has left the base. she's runaway, we've been asked to go and find her.

Will immediately jumped into action. He raced upstairs and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt,

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked sleepily while cuddling Annabelle,

"Marianne has runaway," Will replied,

"Oh poor little thing," Sarah replied, "Let me know if you find her okay,"

"I will," Will replied and kissed his wife on the forhead.

Will raced down the stairs; time was going to be of the essence. It was going to be getting very hot in the desert by now and who knew what Marianne had with her. Will jumped into Ironhide who quickly pulled away and headed out to the desert.

Bumblebee also heard the message from Jazz. He called Sam,

"Yeah Bee, this had better be good. It's my last official holiday sleep in," Sam grouched sleepily,

"Marianne has runaway. Have to help in the search," Bee replied with urgency,

Mikaela was already up and went out to Bee to see what the problem was. When he told her she immediately knew why Marianne had done this and called Sam,

"We have to help find her," Mikaela said to her boyfriend,

"Yeah, I'm coming," Sam snipped as he raced down the stairs and through the kitchen.

Judy had just prepared breakfast for her family,

"Sam your...breakfast," Judy replied, puzzled why her teenage son who never really refused food left home so suddenly,

"Hi mum, bye Dad," he said,

She shook her head "I'll never understand that boy," she said to Ron,

"He's fine. Don't worry about him," Ron replied as Bee sped down the road.

Marianne was now beginning to feel the heat. The sun had been up for a while and the air was already hot. She had been sweating profusely for a while and what little water she had with her was beginning to get warm. She had to find a cool place to stop for a while and wait until the sun had gone down before she could continue on with her journey. She found a small rock and decided to sit in what little shade it had to offer. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Prowl and Sideswipe were in Lou's quarters with Mick and had given her the news,

"I know," Lou replied, "Anna found this letter from Marianne. She's trying to get to New York, we have relatives there,

"But that's the other side of the country," Sideswipe exclaimed, "She'll d..." Clash quickly put his hand over the red Lamborghini's mouth before he could say anymore but Lou knew what he was going to say. She looked up at him,

"I know Sideswipe, it's my fault" she said as she pulled Anna into a hug.

Mick looked across the room at his wife. She looked so sad and lonely sitting there with Anna. He really wanted to walk across the room and hold her, comfort her, let her know it's okay and tha she wasn't to blame herself. Lou turned and looked at him in a way he understood and only he could understand because she was his wife. He walked across the room towards her and drew her intohis arms. Lou didn't resist,

"No Lou, no it isn't," Sideswipe insisted as he got down to her level.

"I don't understand," Prowl said, "How is it your fault," Lou looked up at the tactician,

"Marianne likes to feel secure and if her world is rocked she feels insecure. She has been through so much and everthing she could call her home and that was a part of her life is gone. I have been so focused upon myself I didn't pay her any attention,

"Lou," Clash said gently, "She chose to runaway. You can't blame yourself,"

"But I do. I'm her mother. I should have been looking out for her," Lou snapped at her guardian,

"Lou," Sideswipe said firmly as he placed his hand under her chin, "You have become good friends of ours. Whether you like it or not you've become part our family, we have all been looking out for all of you. Bluetreak is with Ratchet as we speak because he believes he didn't do enough to protect Marianne and Clash here would be broken sparked if anything happened to you. So don't go blaming yourself,"

"Thank you Sidewipe," Lou replied.

Mick looked at the three Autobots standing in Lou's quarters, he couldn't understad how these robots were so kind and yet others were so evil. But what he did know was that he needed to get out there and search for his daughter. He couldn't bear the thought of her being out there alone and susceptible to Decepticon attack,

"Uhm...guys, I probably don't have much of a right to request anything of you but I need to find our daughter. Could anybody help me?" Sideswipe and Clash looked at each other,

"Maybe you'd be better of here with your wife, it might be safer for you," Sideswipe replied,

"No...I _need _to go and find her," Mick insisted. He looked to Lou, she knew exactly what he was talking about. She nodded her ascent,

"I'll stay with her" Clash said as he stroked her back, "You go Mick, she wont be alone,"

* * *

Marianne woke up to find herself laying in the sun. Her face was beginning to feel swollen and hot. Her head was aching and she was gasping for water. When she opened her water bottle and took a sip it was hot but she still drank it. She lay where she was unable to move due to the heat and pain in her head and skin. In the distance she saw dust quickly moving towards her,

"Over here," she called weakly not realising the dust was from Barricade who was on his daily patrol of the area.

The Decepticon mech picked up the signal of the young human and decided to go and investigate. A human to torture and bribe the Autobots with was always first on his list. When he got closer he saw the human laying in the sun was just a teenager and was suffering from the effects of sunstroke and dehydration. Barricade transformed and stood over Marianne with a mixture of malevolence and compassion flowing through his systems for the girl. Marianne looked up and tried to focus on the monstrosity standing above her. He was silhouetted against the sunlight so she couldn't make out the details of his face, except piercing red eyes. She continued to move down his body with her eyes and noticed he was black and white and down by his side were treacherous looking claws. In her confusion from dehydration and sunstroke she mistook the Decepticon for the tactician,

"Prowl, help me," she rasped, Barricade laughed evilly at the vulnerable teenager as he bent down,

"Wrong human, guess again," Marianne opened her eyes again to find the two red optics staring her in the face. Her eyes widened with fear as she tried to struggle to get up.

Barricade placed a claw on her back and pushed her back down again. He wasn't going to harm her but he was going to have some fun with her,

"Let me go," Marianne yelled,

"I will human but first I want to have some fun with you," he sneered at her.

Marianne struggled to crawl under his grip but the Decepticon clamped down harder arond her waist. She started to cry in fear as she wriggled and squirmed while Barricade held her down. The more she struggled the hotter and more tired she became, eventually giving in. Barricade laughed evilly then stopped and looked around, in the distance he could see a cloud of dust moving towards them at great speed. He transformed and quickly took off, leaving Marianne to laying on her stomach.

"Don't worry human. The Autobots are coming for you," he yelled behind him as he sprayed sand on her. She looked up and watched him disappear then allowed her head to drop onto the hard, hot sandy ground.

Blustreak heard a search party was going out to find Marianne and he wanted to be with them. Ratchet agreed believing it was the best thing for the sniper mech. Ironhide and Lenox were coming from the other direction closely followed by Bee, Sam and Mikaela. They knew she wouldn't have gone far and may still be quite close to the base, it would get too hot for her to walk any further. Ratchet was concerned for her state of health and was also angry that she'd do something so stupid. Ironhide caught a Decepticon signal on his scanners. Lennox was looking around the barren environment as Ironhide drove through the desert kicking up the dry desert sand behind him. He was looking ahead becoming more fearful for Marianne; each minute that went by was one less minute she had.

The Autobot search party raced through the desert with Jazz and Mik leading them. It was going to be a long day and trying to find one small teenager in the middle of a desert was going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The scenery around them was blurred as Jazz continued to race through the desert; Mick wondered how he was going to find his daughter. Suddenly Jazz turned direction and headed towards a rocky outcrop. Mick was just about to ask where the silver saboteur was going to go when he saw a familiar figure standing over what looked like a small human form in the distance,

"Oh no!" he said, "No not Marianne,"

The Decepticon looked towards Jazz who was now accompanied by Will and Ironhide; he transformed and fled the scene leaving Marianne laying in the dirt distressed. She didn't see the cloud of dust heading towards her. She just lay there with her head on her arms trying to protect her alead burnt face from any further damage. Mick jumped out of Jazz and raced towards his daughter,

"Marianne," he yelled, Marianne, it's alright baby. It's me your dad," he said as he fell to his knees and gently held her in a secure hug,

"Dad?" Marianne whispered, "Dad you came for me," she said as she looked up at him, "I'm so sorry dad. I was wrong to..."

"Sshh. It's okay Marianne. We'll talk about that later. We need to get you to safety," He looked up at Will who had a bottle of water in his hands. Will gave the water to Mick who put the water to Marianne's mouth. She sipped at the water before he poured the res tover Marianne. He noticed he was no longer in sunlight and when he turned around he saw Ironhide had manouvered himself so that they were out of the sunlight. He looked up at Will,

"Thankyou," he said,

"Oh don' thank me, thank Ironhide," Will replied.

Mick looked at the truck, "Thank you," he said, nothing else was said.

Ratchet and Optimus Prime turned up with Bumblebee, Sam and Mikaela. Ratchet looked at her, she was red and in some areas where the sunburn was most severe blisters were forming,

"Hold on baby, help is here," Mick said as he rocked his daughter.

Ratchet was not happy with her and scowled at the teenager as he muttered something in Cybertronian,

"Easy with her Ratchet," Optimus Prime soothed the medic,

"You're coming with me young lady," the medic said as he transformed back into his vehicle mode, and activated his holoform "Your dad can come as well," he looked at Mick,

Mick gently got up with Marianne in his ams and placed her on a gurney in the back of Ratchet. It was cool inside which Marianne appreciated, he made sure she was comfortable and closed the door. All the way back to the base the teenager never said a word. She lay there wondering whether she was going to find out why the medic was called Ratchet the Hatchet, and then she would have to face her mother. All the while she was in the back of Ratchet he was never rough driving even though it was more than evident he wasn't pleased with the teenager,

"I will take you both back to the base, where I will look at your daughter in the med bay," Ratchet said to Mick who was stroking his daughter's head, "Right now I need you at the front," the medic knew that allowing Mick to travel with Marianne was the right thing to do but he didn't know Mick very well and was happier to have the man travelling up the front with him; Mick got up to leave but Marianne grabbed his hand,

"Daddy stay with me," she pleaded,

"I can't darling I have to go to the front, I am still with you,"

"No," Marianne cried,

"Marianne your dad will still be with you I just need him in the front. No more crying little one. You're safe," Ratchet tried to soothe but she carried on crying as they drove back to the base.

Lou was frantic as she waited for word about her daughter. Nathan and Clash did everything they could to soothe her but in reality nothing was going to help her until Marianne was safely in her arms again. Clash was gently stroking her back when he suddenly stopped,

"Lou, I've just heard from Ironhide; they have found Marianne and Ratchet and Mick are bringing her back to the base," Clash said. Lou heaved a huge sigh of relief and hugged Anna tightly. She then wrapped her arms around Clash's neck and thanked him and did the same for Nathan.

Ratchet took Marianne and Mick straight to the med bay. He activated his holoform and helped her out before he transformed and picked her up and placed her on a berth. Mick really didn't know what to do, he wanted to go back to Lou but he didn't want to leave Marianne. Ratchet turned around to look at Mick and saw the confusion on his face,

"You can leave if you want. Marianne will be okay with me,"

Mick turned to leave the med bay and head back to his quarters. So much had happened today and he had a lot to think about and take in. He too wanted reconcilliation; he had experienced the horror of what the Decepticons were capable of as had Lou and he knew that a lot of what had happened to them was his fault, but it was up to Lou to forgive him for all that had happened. He really hoped she would, the'd already had a good start, he hoped it would carry in this direction.

* * *

"Now young lady. Let's have a look at you," Marianne obediently did everything she was told while Ratchet put her through a thorough examination,

"Well apart from sunstroke, sunburn and dehydration I think you got off quite lightly. What were you thinking? You could have died out there, or put yourself in danger. Decepticons don't miss an opportunity. If they see a vulnerable human they will take them," Ratchet went to the cupboard and picked up a needle and an IV giving set. Marianne looked at them and started to panic as he approached her,

"What are you going to do?" she said as she backed away from the medic,

"Go any further and you will fall of the berth. I'm giving you an IV so we can get some fluid into you," Ratchet replied as he picked up her hand,

Marianne snatched it away, "Leave me alone you big brute," she turned to the door, "Muuuum," she screamed.

Ratchet rolled his eyes and called First Aid. The white and red protectobot stood next to Ratchet,

"Hold her arm for me, while I put this syringe in her hand,"

First Aid held onto Marianne while Ratchet pushed the needle up into a vein,

"Owww," the teenager cried,

"It's okay Marianne, we're trying to help you. You're too dehydrated to not have this,"

"Muum," Marianne cried,

"Go and fetch her mother while I just strap her hand and set up the IV," Ratchet instructed his student. First aid left while Ratchet continued to to work on Marianne. He ran another scan over her body and found the bruises from Barricade,

"How did you get these bruises?" he asked her,

"Barricade found me," the medic grunted,

"You're lucky you didn't get hurt anymore than a few bruises," he replied.

She lay there quietly sobbing to herself, Ratchet looked at her and stroked her forehead,

"You're okay," he soothed, "But I need you to spend the night in here, it is cooler and I can keep an eye on you,"

Marianne looked at him and nodded,

"Good," he replied.

The doors to the med bay opened and Lou came rushing in. She stroked Ratchet's leg, he looked down at her then bent down to pick her up and place her on the berth."Marianne, I'm so sorry," she cried, Ratchet watched the mother and daughter for a whe before leaving them alone

"Mum, I'm scared," Marianne cried, "Life has changed so much and it is going to be so different without Dad. I miss him so much, why did he do this?"

"Oh Marianne," Lou drew her daughter into her arms, "Marianne we will be okay. You do not need to be scared my love, all I want you to do is talk to me"

"I'm sorry mum," Marianne said, "Can I see Dad?" the teenager asked, then she thought about it. She really couldn't face seeing him and decided a letter would bebeter "Actually I don't want to see him, I'll just write him a letter,"

"You sure Marianne, I could arrange for you to see him," Lou said as shstroked her daugher's head,

"I'm sure," she replied quietly.

Lou and Marianne sat there for a while hugging each other. Marianne turned around to look at Ratchet but he wasn't there,

"Ratchet," she called, the medic walked towards the mother and daughter,

"I'm sorry Ratchet. I shouldn't have called you a brute or run away," Ratchet stroked her head.

He remembered all those joors back on Cybertron when things were getting way too risky to go outside after dark and a curfew was imposed for their own safety in Iacon. Ratchet was just a bit older than a youngling and decided to go out after dark and not return home...for a laugh! He worried the life out of his creator and got himself in trouble. The medic smiled at the teenager,

"Marianne you can talk to me too you know. My door will always be open to you,"

"Thanks Ratchet," she replied.

There was a knock at his door, he looked up, _"Now who is that?"_ he wondered to himself. He walked across his med bay and punched in the code. As the door opened he was face to face with Ironhide and Lennox,

"We've come to see how Marianne is before I go back home to my family," Will said with a smile

Ratchet moved out of the way so they could walk in closely followed by Prowl,

"Be gentle on her," he told the tactician.

Ironhide and Lennox walked up to Lou and Marianne,

"How are you?" the captain asked,

"I'm okay," Marianne replied, "I'm sorry. I disturbed your family time,"

They were talking and laughing. Prowl came around the corner with a serious look on his face. Marianne slunk down further into her mum's arms the smile disappearing from her face, "_Uh oh!"_ she thought to herself,

"You know you shouldn't' have run away like don't you. You put your life in danger and worried the life out of all of us," Marianne said nothing, she just nodded as she looked up at Prowl, shamefaced, "Marianne I really mean that, the Autobots were quite frantic when they found out you were missing. Please don't do it again,"

"I won't," Marianne whispered, "Promise,"

Ironhide ruffled her hair and smiled at her,

"Come and see me when you're better and I'll tell you a secret about Ratchet," she was sure she saw the weapons specialist wink at her and smiled back at him.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will be the epilogue and the end of this story.


	16. Chapter 16

Transformers don't belong to me, only the normal characters mentioned in earlier chapters.

I am sorry if there are letters missing from words. I am doing my best to edit my work but for some reason the keyboard has become stiff.

Enjoy!

* * *

Epilogue

New beginnings.

One week later.

Lou woke up in her quarters feeling exhausted and fed up; fed up with her leg being in plaster, with Rachet's continuous scans and examinations, with not having a home as such and with continually living with the possibility of another Decepticon attack. It had been a long time since she had been able to get out and spend some time alone without worrying about Mick or their girls. Mick had been with them a week now and he was already beginning to form good relationships with the Autobots; in particular Clash and Bluestreak. Lou wondered if they would always be their guardian; she'd miss the big midnight blue four wheel drive if he ever stopped being her guardian and she knew that the girls would miss Bluestreak. She wasn't aware that Optimus Prime had already been thinking about this and thought it would be safer for Clash to be the family's guardian. He also thought about Blustreak staying as the girls guardian too, Anna would be alone and vulnerable at her school.  
Marianne still went to the same school as Sam and Mikaela so she'd be protected by Bumblebee if the Decepticons ever attaked. Bluestreak had become part of the girl's life and he had made them part of his.

Lou sat up in her bed and looked at the plaster on her leg; it still had the writing and drawings from the children and Annabelle and the Autobot symbol Sideswipe put on it. Today was "P" day as she called it, the day her plaster would be taken off and she'd be able to walk properly again. The blond curly haired woman knew she'd still have to go through physio but it was going to be easier now that Mick was going to be by her side. She was due to go and see Ratchet in the morning but what she really wanted to do was escape for a while, get out of the base, take time out, _"What harm can it do?" _she thought to herself as she got up and hobbled across her quarters to put on her usual denim skirt and a t-shirt. Another thing she was looking forward to was being able to wear jeans again. Lou looked around her quarters Marianne and Anna had spent the night with Mick in his quarters so she was alone. Lou was going to suggest he moves in with them but she hadn't plucked up the courage to ask him yet. She was still feeling guilty for the way she treated him in the hospital.

Optimus Prime had been watching the couple and he was happy with the progress they were making in their reconciliation. He knew they still had a long way to go but they had made huge leaps forwards. Marianne and Mick had spent a lot of time talking and laughing last night, they played on the xbox in the rec room and watched a movie together while Anna was sleeping. Lou left her quarters and walked to the rec room to find Clash. Bumblebee was in the rec room talking to Jazz. He had been at the base to undergo a routine check with Ratchet, he now had the all clear and could return back to Sam's house,

"Hello Bee are you going back to Sam's today?" she asked the scout hopefully,

He looked at her, "Yes I am," he replied, "Why? Do you want to go there?"

"No, I want to go to the lookout," Lou replied,

"On your own?" Bee asked a bit surprised.

"Yeah I need time to think things through" she said.

"Anyone know you're going?" Jazz asked.

"No and please don't tell anyone. I need some time alone to think things through" she said again.

Bee really didn't want to take Lou to the lookout, she would be vulnerable out there alone and no match to Barriade who had been sighted in tranquillity recently. Jazz opened his comm. Link to Clash,

"**Clash here Jazz,"**

**"Lou is going to the lookout with Bee but she wants to be alone. I'm going out on patrol soon so I could call by every now and then but she will be alone most of the time out there,"**

**"I have some time rostered imeoff so I'll go up there,"**

**"You'd better hurry they're leaving now. Jazz out!"**

Clash transformed and went to the rec room to grab a cube of energon on his way out. He met Ratchet on the way and almost bumped into him,

"Easy there Clash," the medic said, "What's your rush anyway, you know how bad it is to drink energon on the run. If I see you in my med bay later I will..."

"Yeah ok Ratchet. I have to go Lou's gone to the lookout,"

"She did what? When she gets back I'm going to haul her sorry aft into this med bay and I'm going to tie her to a berth. How dare she leave without seeing me first and what's she doing at the lookout on her own?"

The angry medic transformed and followed Clash to the lookout, leaving everybody wondering who was going to be the victim of Ratchet's wrath. The midnight blue mech knew a quick way there and decided to use it so she wasn't vulneable or too long.

* * *

Bumblebee stopped off at the lookout and opened his door for Lou,

"Are you sure you want to be alone? Decepticons could be hanging around here," Bee said. Lou looked around; she would be lonely out here and she would be a target for the Decepticons but the stubborn blond convinced herself she'd be okay,

"I'll be fine Bee," the scout closed his door and drove off unhappy about leaving her there. He radioed Clash and told him where Lou was,

"**Don't worry Bee, I'm on my way there,"** the midnight Blue mech replied and sped up.

Lou could hear the sound of Bumblebee's engine fade as hed rove away. All she could hear were the sounds of the crickets and the gentle breeze blowing around the lookout, and she liked it. The peace and quiet was so welcming. Suddenly Lou felt very lonely and the sound of her one good foot crunching on the dirt as she hobbled to the tree was very loud. She sat in the shade of the tree and watched the landscape change as clouds drifted across the sun. Lou was enjoying being alone with her thoughts so when she heard the sound of an engine coming up the hill she was disappointed and annoyed.

Clash got to the lookout and saw her sitting there in the same place they'd sat looking out towards the mountains, her blond curly hair gently blowing in the breeze. She looked lonely sitting there. He wanted to give her a hug and just let her know it was okay. Lou heard the all too familiar sounds of transformation and resented the intrusion as Clash silently moved towards the woman and sat down next to her; his midnight blue armour shining in the sun,

"You know Clash I was so wrong to treat Mick the way I did in the hospital. I want us to be a happy family again. I don't want the Decepticons to put this on their list of victories but I've really hurt him. Why is he so willing to have me back? How can I make it up to him?"

"Oh Lou. You will find a way," he replied quietly as he drew her into a hug, she felt so safe and really didn't want the moment to end.

The sound of another engine came up behind them; this one she didn't quite recognise but Clash did. She felt him cycle air through his vents and groan. His charge was really in need of time to collect her thoughts,

"**Is** **she alright**?" Ratchet asked Clash over his private comm. Link.

"**She's ok Ratch, just give us a minute**"

Ratchet remained in his vehicle mode for a few moments watching the couple but he was begining to grow impatient.

"You know what?" Lou said eventually,

"What?" Clash replied,

"It would be so nice to bring Mick up here,"

"It would be good for the two of you. I could bring you both if you wanted. I'd stay until you were ready to go home, I'd just hang back a bit. Give you space,"

Lou smiled, "Thanks Clash," she replied, "I may just take you up on that offer,"

Ratchet decided he'd had enough of waiting and transformed into his robot mode. Lou shuddered as she heard his angry movements and footsteps coming towards them. He knelt down next to her,

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked sharply.

"Well, I just needed time alone" Lou replied angrily. Ratchet said nothing he simply transformed and opened his door. Lou looked but didn't move,

"Ratchet leave her alone. Give her a minute, will you?" Clash snipped.

Ratchet turned towards Lou and Clash

"I will speak to you when we get back…after I have seen to Lou," Ratchet replied sourly and completed his transformation muttering something about insubordinate mechs.

"Get in" he ordered.

Lou obediently got into the passenger seat of his cab with the help of Clash. Ratchet put the seatbelt around her tightly but not so tight she couldn't breath-just enough for her to know he wasn't happy. Nobody said anything on the way back and the atmosphere inside Ratchet's cab was tense. He drove her up to his med bay and placed himself so that when the door of the cab and the door to the med bay opened she'd have to step into the med bay. She slunk out of Ratchet and into the med bay and waited for him to transform before his outburst.

"When I say I want to see you every day at a certain time, then I want to see you. You are my patient until I release you and while I've allowed you to…"

"I am not your patient Ratchet, the hospital released me. They said I am better I don't need you to do your scans everyday. I am fine Ratchet a little stiff in the mornings but fine"

"Don't interrupt me again" he said dangerously, his blue optics boring holes into her while her blue eyes glared back at him. Everybody could hear them in the base and were chuckling. The Autobots found it amusing that a human would go toe to toe with the medic. Prime stood their covering his hand with his face shaking his head; he had his battle mask drawn across his face so no one could see him smiling.

"She's a feisty little thing" Sides said.

"Try living with her" piped up the voice of eight year old Anna. At which point everybody burst out laughing.

Mick came into the rec room where everybody was laughing and joking. He had no idea what was going on but the sound of Lou's raised voice suggested somebody was on the wrong end of her anger. What he didn't know was she was arguing with a seventeen foot robot.

"Need I ask?" he said with a smile,

"Nope," Marianne replied,

"It sounds like you're used to this Mick," Jazz replied with a wry smile,

"Lou arguing? Oh yeah," he chuckled, "Whose the unfortunate victim this time?"

"Lou," Everybody replied,

"What…how come?" Mick asked

"Mummy went to the lookout without telling anybody or seeing Ratchet first," Anna said,

"Ohhhh," Mick replied, "But why is she arguing with Ratchet?"

"Because she didn't see Ratchet when she was supposed to," Sunstreaker replied,

"Yeah and you never mess Ratchet around," Sideswipe continued,

"Just a minute," Mick replied with a puzzled look on his face, "Are you telling me she's arguing with the big green one?"

Will and Ironhide walked in, they had to walk past the med bay to get to the rec room and couldn't help but hear the argument.

"You would be correct with that assumption," Ironhide replied smirking,

Mick quickly turned around to find Ironhide with Will,

"Woah…go Lou," Mick laughed," Will she win?"

"Nope," the whole base replied,

Arguing was not something they did very often up until recently but when Lou got going she was like a dog gnawing at a bone. However, Lou's husband couldn't believe that she would take on a seventeen foot robot who happened to be a wrench throwing medic. He laughed as he shook his head in disbelief as he turned towards the human area of the rec room and walked towards their chilren,

"It's a good job she's not Cybertronian, he would have had some horrible punishment for her," Sideswipe said,

"Oh," Mick replied and went over to where his two daughters were sitting alone enjoying their breakfast. Nobody could wait to hear the outcome of the feisty woman's argument with the medic.

Will got a coffee and sat next to Mick,

"Hello, I don't think we got to meet formally. I'm Will Lennox," he held out his hand as he introduced himself,

Mick looked up and shook Will's hands, "Mick Ferrier," he replied,

"Listen I'm inviting a few mates around for a BBQ and a drink. Would you like to come?"

"Yeah okay," Mick replied with a smile,

"Good" Will replied, "I'll ask Ironhide to pick you and Nathan up at 7.00pm,"

"Ironhide? Will he take me? I don't think we're on…"

"Ol Hide. Nah he'll be fine. I'll talk to him before he collects you. See you then, oh and I think Sarah may want to spend some time with Lou,"

Ratchet was not at all happy with Lou, she was sitting on the berth waiting for her plaster to be taken off. She'd lost the argument when the medic told her if she didn't stop arguing with him he would plaster her legs together right up to her hips. The blond woman sat there sulking…losing was not normally an option for her; but she could only get so far with an angry, caring medic who was 17 feet tall and could squash her in 10 seconds flat.

Ratchet picked up her leg and looked at it, he then got his scanner and put it on the highest setting so it could scan her bone through the plaster,

"It's healed well," he said,

The medic opend his hand. Lou watched in fascination as a small circular saw was emerged from the palm of the medic's hand. Ratchet watched her and smirked at his patient. He activated the circular saw, it made a high pitched buzzing sound and then he started to cut through the plaster. It tickled her leg as the plaster vibrated, Lou lay back and giggled; causing the medic to stop and look at her,

"What's the matter?" he asked sourly,

"Nothing Ratchet," she said, "_Or should I say Hatchet,_?" Lou thought mischievously,

"Good," he replied and carried on with what he was doing.

Finally the plaster was off; Lou heaved a sigh of relief as she wriggled her toes. Her leg felt free and cold from the air. Ratchet moved around the berth and helped her up,

"Just take it easy for a while, and do your physic exercises regularly," Lou nodded at him,

"Can I get down now?" she asked sarcastically,

Ratchet held out his hand so Lou could get in and he could put her down, but instead of putting her down he carried her out of the med bay. He carried her down the corridor toward the rec room. As they walked in the whole room turned into a deathly silence. Lou looked around at everybody then up at Ratchet puzzled by this reaction.

They were closely followed by Optimus Prime and another official looking man. Optimus Prime greeted Lou and was pleased to see her with her plaster off. He the walked to where Mick was sitting,

"Good morning Mick Ferrier, Mick looked up at the huge leader who was now down to hs optic level,

"I have some news which you may be interested in and would like you to attend a meeting between myself my second and third in command, your prevous employer," Mick looked at Optimus Prime, surprised that his previous employer would want to see him. The Autobot leader offered his hand so Mick could jump on,

"I'd rather walk if you don't mind," Mick replied as he got up, "You lead and I will follow you,"

"Very well!" Prime replied as he got up and walked out of the rec room followed by Mick.

Mick was struggling to keep up with Prime's huge footsteps, he ended up almost running to keep up and eventually gave up and asked Optimus to carry him. Prime bent down ad offered Mick his hand Mick gratefully took the hand and got up.

In Prime's office there was a desk with two Autobots sitting behind it and on the desk were two chairs one of which his prevous employer was sitting on. The grey haired man turned around and stood up,

"Mr. Ferrier, how are you? Nice to see you" he said to Mick while offering his hand,

"Yes you too," Mick replied and shook hands with him,

"Mick may I introduce you to my SIC and TIC command Prowl and Jazz," both the Autobots greeted with a nod of the head,

"Okay down to business," his previous employer said, "Mick we were wondering if you'd be interested in coming back to work with us. As a company we have an excellent reputation in security and we were already forming a relationship with the Autobots while you were working with us before; that was why I had so many secret meetings. You know how these big guys are hot on being kept secret. The thing is I haven't been able to find anybody else who was as high calibre as you were and who were willing to sign a secrecy document. You have been with the Autobots and the Decepticons and you know how much of a threat the Decepticons can be to the security and the safety of our nation and the world. We would like to invite you to return as my liaison officer between the Autobots and the company. You would be liaising with myself, Optimus Prime, Jazz or Prowl only," Mick listened intently to the man,

"Just a minute," he replied a little bit perplexed and frightened, "What about the Decepticons,"

"We have nothing to do with them, but because you'd be working with the Autobots it could be a cause for concern for you and I understand that," Mick sat there for a moment and thought, he looked at the three Autobots looking at him intently,

"I don't know about this. I know what they can do and what about my family?"

"Your family would be protected," Jazz replied, "Lou and the children would maintain their guardians and you'd have one with you too,"

"We'd need you to live close to the base for your own safety," Prowl said, "But you'd be in your own home,"

Mick nodded, he was very concerned with how it might look to Lou and their children, especially as the family were beginning to renew the bond they all shared,

"To be perfectly honest with you…I'd like to think about it and talk it over with Lou. I don't know what her feelings would be about this though because of our recent history,"

"If necessary I could talk to Lou," Optimus Prime replied, "It would be better coming from one of us as well because of everything that has happened with you two,"

"Another thing," his previous employer replied, "Because you did get involved with them, you'd continually be under supervision,"

"It is the only way we could get Red Alert to agree with this, he fritzed himself over it and is under Ratchet's care as we speak," Jazz said,

"I can understand that, it would be better for us all that way. I can prove myself to be trustworthy and maybe you could learn to trust me," Mick said,

"We do trust you," Prowl replied, "That's why we're asking you,"

His previous employer sat there listening to the conversation. He had a feeling it would be hard to convince him that it would be okay to take the position and it looked like he was right. He could understand the reasoning behind Mick's thinking, after all he too had had a close shave with the Decepticons,

"If you want time to think about this then we can give you time but don't wait too long we don't know much time we have,"

"What would this new job entail?" Mick asked,

"We can't tell you that until you accept the position. If you do you'd be sworn to secrecy," Jazz said, "The less people know the safer it would be,"

"But I'm not in the forces or anything…"

"You don't have to be, you'd be working in a civilan company who are already working closely with the Autobots,"

This really appealed to Mick's sense of adventure, he gave a wry smile as he looked around the room. He really wanted to say yes now but decided it was unwise to,

"Give me 48 hours to think about it and talk it over with Lou," Mick then looked at Prime, "Maybe you could be with me when I spoke to her because I don't think she'd trust me if I was to give her the news alone,"

Optimus Prime nodded in affirmation of Mick's request. He could understand the man's feelings.

Lou was back in her quarters and she had decided to catch up on her email. She opened her laptop; it was looking a little dusty. There were over 100 unread emails mainly from friends asking of her wellbeing but she found one there from her parents,

"_Hi darling. We haven't heard from you for a while is everything okay? How are your husband and your children? The reason for this email is because your father and I have decided we can no longer handle the ranch alone, it is just too big for us and we were wondering if you'd willing to move in. It would suit your growing family and it has been in the family for over 100 years as you know. It would be a shame to let it go. We wouldn't be living with you,we'd move out into a smaller house," Lou what happened to your house? We went to visit you and a neighbour told us it blew up. Why didn't you tell us? Anyway we don't know where you're staying at the moment but giving you the ranch would solve any housing problem you may have. Got to go. Love Mum. Xx_

Lou felt really guilty for not contacting her mother but what could she say? For one the Autobots had sworn her and her family to secrecy and for the other her mother wouldn't believe her. Lou wondered who her parents had spoken to and wondered if it was the busy body who lived opposite them. She needed to speak with her guardian, Optimus Prime and her family about this before they moved into the ranch. They would certainly need the space and the privacy if the Autobots insisted Clash stay her guardian but it was a little way off from the base.

A memory crept into Lou's head of the first time she saw her Appaloosa, Mystique. There were so many fond memories in the ranch she didn't really want to get rid of it and was glad her mother emailed her. The blond woman hoped that she didn't leave it too late to reply and send an email back. She was just about to reply when Mick came bursting through the door.

He saw his wife sitting at the table with her laptop out. She had a faraway look on her face,

"Lou," he gently called, "Are you okay sweetheart?"

Lou looked up at her husband, he had a concerned look on his face,

"I-I have just received an email from mum. They want me to take over the ranch,"

"Well that's good isn't it? The ranch has been in your family for hundreds of years and it is a quiet place for Clash to transform,"

Lou looked at Mick, she hadn't thought about not having him as a guardian. She had got quite fond of the big midnight blue mech and would miss him terribly if they were to be separated. Little did she know that transformers would suffer if they were to lose somebody they had got close to and little did she realise that the big blue mech was dreading the day he'd have to say goodbye to his charge, who he considered to be a part of his life now. So much so his closest friends were getting concerned about his well being.

"Yes I guess it is good. I'm not sure how Marianne and Anna could take it though, they've grown up in the city,"

"Can't take what?" Marianne asked as she walked in with Bluestreak.

Mick and Lou looked up at Bluestreak. Mick still couldn't get used to the idea of these huge beings carrying his family around but the children looked so happy on Blue's shoulders and the sniper seemed to be such a genial mech,

"Mumma and Poppy have decided to leave the ranch to us. It has been in our family for a hundred years. It is in the country with huge Corrales where we used to keep the cows and some horses,"

"We have horses?" Anna asked surprised by this revelation,

"No darling Poppy used to have horses and I had an Appaloosa called Mystique,"

"You had a horse?" Marianne asked, "Why didn't we see it when we visited the ranch?"

"She died," Lou replied sadly, "She had colic and had to be put down,"

"Oh! Is that why you never talked about her?" Marianne asked,

Lou sat down on her chair, she still missed Mystique and she missed being on a horse. Mick came up behind her and stroked Lou's curly hair,

"Your mum used to ride very well and perform in competitions and rodeos until Mystique died, then she never got back on a hose again,"

"Woah mum," Marianne replied, "I'd love to be able to ride a horse, you can teach me," she continued excitedly. Lou looked up and smiled at her teenage daughter's enthusiam.

"If you don't mind me saying," Blue said "If you enjoy it that much why don't you get another horse and ride again,"

Lou looked up at the grey and red sniper, smiled and rubbed his leg, she knew what he was trying to do. The mech than suddenly had an idea and decided to mention it to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. They would surely know how to get hold of a horse, no maybe not but Jazz would. He was tuned up with earth culture.

Lou turned to look at Mick, she noticed how he still had a look of sadness about him but she couldn't help but think that he had something to say to her. She also wanted to invite him back to her quarters more permanently that way she'd be sure in her mind that a breadown in her marriage wasn't going to be the Decepticon's claim to victory. For her the battle with the Decepticons wasn't over until she had her family back together, united and strong.

Mick looked down at Lou seriously,

"Lou, I need to talk to you about something quite important and so does Optimus Prime,"

The blond haired woman looked up at Mick, suddenly she felt threatened by those words and wondered what could so serious that even Prime would want to talk to them,

"Why what's happened?" she asked,

"Nothing," he replied and sat down next to her, "Lou I've been offered a job working in my previous employment and with the Autobots ,"

"What will you be doing?" she asked,

"That's what Prime wants to talk to you about. Lou it's a big decision and we both have to be comfortable with it and any repercussions," Lou eyed him suspiciously,

"What repercussions Mick?" she asked, although she had a fair idea of what the answer would be. It had all become quite clear to her that contact with Autobots equals contact with Decepticons,

"But Mick look at what happened to us before all this started, we both nearly died. What about the children?"

"That is why Optimus Prime wants to speak to us. Lou it is going to be very risky so we have to be very sure that we want to do this,"

Lou leaned forward on her chair and rested her elbows on the table. She massaged her face with her hands, she believed that this was going to end soon, now she wasn't so sure. Marianne looked at Bluestreak,

"Put me down Blue please,"

Bluestreak lowered himself so that Marianne could get down. She slid off her friend's hand and walked over to Lou,

"Mum, we will be okay won't we?" she asked,

Lou looked up at her daughter, Marianne didn't stop looking at Lou. She was searching for the reassurance that she needed but it wasn't very forthcoming. The teenager then looked at her dad,

"Dad?" she called, "I'm scared,"

Mick got down and did something he hadn't done for a long time. He pulled his teenage daughter into his arms and hugged her. Marianne didn't fight it, instead she held onto her dad tightly trying to squeeze every bit of reassurance that they would be okay out of him. He rubbed her back,

"It will be okay honey. Promise!"

"No daddy, please don't promise me that because it hasn't been okay," Marianne cried into her dad's shoulder.

Mick sighed as he stroked her hair. How he wished he could promise her it would be okay but in truth she was right. It hasn't been okay and it wouldn't be okay if they were to carry on with this but he knew his daughter well and he knew that whatever decision they made she would cope with it. He was also confident that his new found friends, the Autobots would do all they could to protect him and his family, especially Clash who Lou had grown to love and Bluestreak who the children saw as their brother they always wanted.

Bluestreak edged closer to Marianne and Mick and rubbed her back gently with his big finger,

"Marianne whatever happens I will protect you and Anna along with your father,"

Marianne looked around at the red and grey mech through teary eyes and held out her hand. He stroked her face,

"Thank you Blue," she sobbed.

Mick looked at his watch when he heard a gentle knock at their door,

"Mick Ferrier, you coming?" a harsh voice called,

He let go of his daughter and opened the door to find himself looking into Ironhide's sapphire optics,

"Sorry," he said,

The black weapon's specialist grunted and walked away from this human his charge had asked him to pick up. Lennox asked him to be friendly with the man but Ironhide really didn't appreciate the task of collecting him. He stopped at the main entrance to the base, transformed and opened his passenger door. Mick stood there waiting for Ironhide to say something,

"Well, are you coming?" the mech asked. Mick didn't reply he just jumped into the passenger seat of the truck.

They drove out of the base and through the desert, it was very quiet inside the truck. Mick didn't think much of Ironhide's driving he was rough and thrown around the front of the cab a bit. Once they got to Tranquillity Ironhide slowed down and activated his holoform, surprising Mick.

His hair was thick, long and black which he had pulled back into a pony tail. He was smartly dressed in a white t shirt, black jeans and a pair of cowboy boots. On his right muscle bound arm was the Autobot emblem tattooed boldly in red. His eyes were still the sapphire blue and looked at Mick intensely as he looked back at Ironhide. Ironhide turned and looked at the road ahead of him, smirking. Mick stared out of the window and watched the scenery go by. He wondered where the Lennoxes lived as they drove out of the other side of Tranquillity. Finally the black mech pulled off the road along a little dirt track before they came out onto a clearing and were greeted by Will and Sarah,

Mick went to open the passenger door but Ironhide growled a warning at him, then opened the door himself to let Mick out. When Will saw the look on Mick's face he knew exactly what had happened,

"Mick I hope the journey _wasn't too bad,"_ he said as he fired a look of disapproval in the direction of Ironhide.

Mick shook Will's hand and was lead around the back of the farm where he saw Nathan, Epps and a few other friends of Will's. The welcome was warm and friendly from everybody and he sat down with them to join in the fun.

* * *

Lou woke up first thing in the morning, not quite sure if her husband was back yet or not. She was going to be talking with Optimus Prime and Mick about this new job he was going to be doing. Lou left her quarters and made her way to the rec room where she had arranged to meet Mick. She had arranged it for a little bit earlier so that she could talk to Mick about moving into the ranch and him moving in with them while they were still in the Autobot base. She made her way down the long grey corridors and into the rec room where she got a coffee and waited for her husband to arrive. She could hear the familiar sound of music coming down the corridor with a deep voice singing quietly along with the words. He stopped when he saw Lou sitting alone in the rec room,

"Hey Princess, what are you doing sitting here alone?" Jazz asked,

"Waiting for my husband," she replied with a smile,

"Ohh," he replied, "Can I keep you company?" he asked with a wide grin,

Lou looked at him, how could she resist a smile like that?

"Sure," she replied,

He bent down and offered his hand. Lou picked up her coffee and sat in his hand. Jazz walked over to one of the tables that were for the transformers and sat her on it before getting himself a cube of energon. He came back humming that same tune,

"Do you like music?" he asked Lou,

"Yes I do," she replied with a smile, "But I haven't listened to any lately, actually I haven't had much fun lately. Life has got much too serious,"

Jazz noted the hint of sadness in her voice,

"Been pretty tough lately l'il lady hasn't it?" he emphasised

Lou looked down and nodded before looking up again, she smiled at the silver mech,

"I intend to change that," she replied lightly,

"Oh and what are you planning?" Jazz asked,

"I don't know I would like us all to go on holiday but Marianne and Anna go back to school on Monday so that won't work,"

"You'll think of something Lou," he said.

Jazz suddenly stopped moving and his optics paled,

"Lou that was Prime he wants to see you and Mick in his office,"

"Oh but where is Mick?" Lou asked, "I've been here for an hour waiting for him. Nobody else is here except you," she said looking around the rec room,

"You wouldn't be complaining about my company would you, l'il lady," Jazz asked in a sad voice, he then winked at her and smiled,

Lou looked at him with mock shock,

"Who me?" she asked in all innocence, as she placed her hand on her chest,

Jazz chuckled, "Yes you," he replied as he picked her up and placed her on his shoulder.

The silver mech played music and danced with Lou on his shoulder down the corridor, her blond curls bouncing off her shoulder. They were both laughing and singing along to the words. Lou felt so good and happy as they continued their way down the corridor,

"Hey what you doing with my lady?" Jazz turned around and saw Clash behind them,

"You go that one wrong, she's my lady now,"

Lou burst out laughing at the playful banter going on between the two mechs. It wasn't long before they were joined by Mirage who had collected Mick. They were chatting together, well Mirage was; about Cybertron. Mick smiled when he saw Lou. She blew him a kiss, Mick returned the gesture. The action didn't miss Jazz as he whistled at the gesture between the husband and wife. Lou became embarassed and Mick was surpised to hear the whistle come from the mech. They arrived at Prime's office and the group became silent as a sombre mood fell upon Lou and Mick. The Autobots picked up on their mood,

"You'll be fine guys," Jazz reassured them both as he knocked on Prime's door,

"Come in," Optimus called.

They all walked into the office. Lou looked around and saw Prowl behind the desk with Prime_._ She couldn't help but think how much resemblance this meeting held to the last one except everything was behind her and her husband was beside her. She turned to look at Mick, a sudden feeling of relief and guilt flooded her. Relief that her husband was back with her, guilt for the way she treated him. They were both set down in front of Prime and Prowl on the desk. Lou looked at Mick, grabbed his hand and squeezed it,

"Sorry, Mick. I'm really, really sorry for the way I treated you in the hospital and I love you, if there is anyway…"

"Ssshhh," Mick replied as he put his fingers on her lips, "Don't do this to yourself, Lou,"

Lou moved closer to Mick and placed an arm around his waist and her head on his shoulder, forgetting for one minute where she was,"

"Uh hmm," Prime said quietly,

Both the humans and mechs looked up at the red and blue leader who was looking down at them with a gentle smile on his face,

"May we begin?"

"Yes sir," they both replied. Mick and Lou felt like little school children standing in front of the headmaster in his office, waiting for the lecture and punishment for bad behaviour,

"Lou," Prime begun, "I don't know how much Mick has told you but he has been offered the opportunity to work with us and his previous employment who have recently joined a coalition with us to help keep your world safe. We believe that because of his involvement with the Decepticons and us he could be of great help to us. Mick wasn't sure how you would take this in light of all that has happened to you all so we offered to speak to you as well,"

"When you say safe you mean rom the Decepticons don't you?" Lou asked quietly,

"Yes I do Lou," the Autobot leader replied sombrely and carried on,

Lou listened to all that Optimus Prime was saying. There was so much he hadn't told her and the fact that the Decepticons were still part of her and her family's life angerd her a litle bit ,

"I appreciate you talking to me about this. Uhm…the thought of Mick doing this work…it kinda makes me feel a little nervous. I was hoping to put it all behind me,"

"And you still can," Prowl said, "There aren't many humans who have had the experience with the Decepticons that Mick has. His experience would be priceless in our war against the Decepticons on earth,"

"Does this mean we have to stay here at the base?" Lou asked, "It's just that my mum emailed me, she has left the family ranch to us. I was hoping to move in,"

Prowl was concened about the massive security undertaking, if they were to move into such an open area,

"It's better if they live nearby sir" Prowl said,

A look of disappointment crossed Lou's face, so the Decepticons had won…indirectly. Optimus Prime saw this and he felt a deep compassion for the woman in his spark. For millions of vorns he's wanted to live in his own residence with Elita and sparklings. How could he take this away from her?

"Well Clash would still be your guardian and Mick would have a guardian too. Bluestreak would also remain the guardian of the children," Prime replied to his second in command

"But Marianne and Anna go to different schools," Prowl replied. He then looked at Lou,

"Marianne was going with Sam, Mikalea and Bee wasn't she?" Prowl asked, "She can continue with that,"

Mick stood in front of his wife and held her arms in a firm grip, "Lou please," he implored his wife.

Lou looked Mick straight into his brown eyes, Lou shook her head,

"I don't know about this Mick,"

"Lou we will be alright," Mick tried to reassure Lou

She looked at him, her eys watering,

"I wanted this to end, I wanted to move on from the threat of Decepticons but now it seems..." Lou stopped, let her arms fall down beside her body and sighed,

"Okay but only if we can live on the ranch,"

Prowl was about to protest when Optimus raised his hand to stop him,

"**She has agreed, we can sort out their safety at a later time,"** Prime said over his comm link.

Lou looked up at Prowl and saw he wasn't happy,

"Maybe Prowl could come to the ranch so he can see how far we are from the base and how safe it will be," Lou suggested.

Optimus liked the idea and suggested he went to, he'd love to have some time out and a break from data pads,

"Why don't we make a day trip of it," Mick suggested, "The Lennoxes could come too, and Bee with Sam and Mikaela,"

Optimus laughed,

"Alright then, we'll do that," he said.

The mood in the office lightened and even Prowl smiled slightly at the lighter mood, he found human mood changes difficult to grasp but he was getting used to them. They left the office together and walked slowly through the corridors. On the way they met Marianne and Anna,

"Mummeeee, Daddeee," Anna cried.

Mick held his arms out for his daughter who jumped into them. Mick lifted her above his head and swung her around. Anna gave him a big hug,

"You know what? Marianne said. "You and Dad should go to the lookout for a romantic evening,"

"That sounds like a good idea," Sunstreaker said as he approached them, "We could come too,"

"That's not quite what I had in mind," Marianne said.

Sunstreaker looked crestfallen. Sideswipe quickly jumped in,

"I think what my dear brother was suggesting was we'd stay with them and keep a lookout for Decepticons,"

Marianne smiled at the pun Sides had pulled,

"What?" he asked, "What's funny?"

Anna burst out laughing,

"Sideswipe, _you're_ soooo funny,"

"Funny am I?" the red mech said, "I'll get you for that?"

Anna ran down the corridor laughing and squealing bringing Ratchet out of his med bay. The little girl accidentally ran into his big foot and fell backwards. Ratchet looked down at her,

"That is why you shouldn't run down the corridor," he scolded her,

Anna's smile disappeared and a tear pooled into her eye. Sideswipe heard Ratchet and walked up to him,

"Easy with her. I was chasing her," Sideswipe chided the medic.

Ratchet glared at Sideswipe, "_Ah oh!"_ the frontline warrior thought to himself,

"Then you should know better," Ratchet sourly replied as he bent down, picked her up and gently soothed her.

He wanted to take Anna into the med bay and check her over but the 8 year old wriggled and insisted he put her down. The medic could see she was going to be a difficult patient and decided there wasn't much wrong with her if she could wriggle and complain the way she was so he obliged the 8 year old and put her down.

* * *

The day of the picnic came. Anna woke up excited and jumped on Lou and Mick,

"Come on, wake up. It's picnic day,"

Marianne woke up and smirked to herself as she remembered Anna's continual harassment she got the morning they went to collect Ebony.

Mick grabbed his daughter around the waist and tickled her. She burst out into fits of giggles,

"No ha ha ha daddy ha ha ha stop it. We have to get ready," Mick looked at the clock, as he turned his head Anna noticed grey hair around his ears,

"Oohh daddy, you've got grey hair," Mick looked at his daughter,

"And you've got unruly hair," he said as he ruffled her blond curls, "It's only 6.00am, it's too early Anna go and read for a bit,"

"Okay," she sighed, as she reluctantly got off the bed. She quickly turned around again and jumped in between Mick and Lou,

"Will there be any Decepticons there?" Mick froze for a moment,

"I doubt it, and if they come I will protect you and so will Bluestreak,"

Lou smiled, it hadn't taken her husband long to accept the Autobots as friends and she hoped they would see him the same way. They were both concerned that Anna feared the Decepticons coming from around every corner. She thought about speaking to Prime or Clash about it but hadn't got around to it yet. Even Ratchet may have some answers but she didn't have the courage to speak to him after her last meeting with the medic. What she didn't know was that Ratchet had noticed Anna's nervousness when walking around the base. He thought about having a meeting with Lou and Mick to discuss this before they moved into their ranch. Mick sat up and stroked his daughter's hair,

"Anna, you don't have to be scared of Decepticons, you are safe here. The Autobots have kept you safe and now you have me to look after you too,"

"I see them daddy, when I shut my eyes," she whispered, "I see their ruby optics in the darkness,"

"Oh baby," Mick said as he drew her into a hug, Lou turned over and hugged her daughter as well.

Finally everybody got up and got ready for the picnic; it was going to be a long but fun day but Lou was looking forward to going to the ranch. Anna continued on with her usual vibrant excitement of the day. This was going to be fun! Anna could vaguely remember the one and only visit she made to the ranch when she was four. She remembered the open spaces where she could run around but that was all.

The children were all excited as they jumped into the back of Clash, it was time to go on the picnic. The whole base was buzzing with the excitement of the picnic except for Sunstreaker and Sideswipe who were miserable because they were rostered on to guard the base with Red Alert and Mirage,

"How did we score this one?" Sunstreaker moaned to his brother,

"Not quite sure," Sideswipe replied as they watched everybody leave.

Finally they disappeared into the horizon and the dust settled, everything was quiet as they stood there for a moment,

"You know what?" Sunstreaker said, "Things aren't going to be the same around here without Lou's children,"

Sideswipe smiled, "I know," he replied sadly, "Especially that little bundle of energy, Anna,"

Sunstreaker smiled as he turned around and walked inside. He remembered the noise of the sparklings when he was living with his brother next to the nursery. He continued to walk towards the base shaking his head.

The drive to the ranch didn't take long but Ratchet couldn't help but notice how open and remote it was. Just perfect for an Autobot to live in _and_ Decepticon attack; but then so was the Lennoxes and Ironhide seemed to have no problem nor did they. He followed the midnight blue four wheel drive up the dirt track past the empty Corrales up to a huge dark brown wooden building.

Everything was just how Lou remembered it. The house stood on its own and there was another building which was smaller than the house and had a small amount of old farm equipment which looked like it had seen better days. Beyond that were the foothills in the south and the shadow of Tranquillity to the north. On either side of the dirt path were the two Corrales where their horses and cows were once kept. Lou could almost remember seeing Mystique running around the pen in sheer delight of her owner's arrival.

Lou and Mick walked up the wooden staircase as they heard the familiar sounds of the clicks and whirs of the transformations going on behind them. The door opened to reveal a huge open area. There was furniture with white sheets all over it. The sunlight shone in the window making the room look warm and inviting. Lou walked into the room, her feet noisy on the polished wooden floor. The blond woman turned around and walked back to the door,

"Well, are you coming in?" she asked with a smile

Mick and the children came. Marianne and Anna run around pulling the sheets off the furniture and laughing. The sheets floated off the furniture to reveal brown, worn leather chairs and couches. "_Hm, they look a bit worse for wear," _Lou thought to herself. The children continued to run around the house pulling off sheet after sheet after sheet. Dust flew everywhere but the children didn't care they just enjoyed the surprise as they took off each sheet to reveal the hidden treasure underneath. The walls were a deep apricot with squares which looked cleaner where pictures had been and the light shades and curtains had a layer of dust on them. Lou looked around the walls, then walked up to Mick, took his hand in hers and whispered,

"We'll have to start all over again. Isn't it exciting?"

Mick looked down at her and kissed her lightly on the cheek as he picked up on her excitement, _"Yeah this was going to be good!"_ They both moved through the house slowly dreaming of how it could look and they stopped in the hallway,

"Well Mrs. Ferrier," he said as he faced his wife and put his arms around her waist, "This will be a new beginning for all of us. You ready for it?"

"I certainly am," she replied as she moved herself into his hug, then pretending to hold a glass she raised her arm and said, "To a bold, bright future,"

Mick pretended to touch his glass with hers then they laughed and walked down the hallway arm in arm into the kitchen. It was neat and clean and the old kitchen Lou grew up with was replaced with a modern up to date one. The kitchen always used to be dark and dingy but it had a new airy look about it, Lou nodded in approval. They sat at the table when they heard the sound of Annabelle calling Anna.

* * *

Prowl looked around the scene,

"Prime, it's too open. I don't like it,"

"No more then Will and Sarah's," Ironhide replied, "Besides it's perfect for their guardian and its not far from the base,"

Will and Sarah looked around the scenery, it certainly was peaceful. Annabelle started to squirm in her mother's arm,

"Put me down," she ordered Sarah as she tried to squirm out of her arms,

Sarah looked down at her squirming daughter,

"What do you say?"

"Please,"

Sarah lowered her down onto the ground, Annabelle immediately ran off towards the house and up the stairs,

"Anna, Anna," she called.

Anna came to the doorway and looked down,

"Hello Annabelle, do you want to come in too?"

"Yes," Annabelle replied.

Anna took Annabelle's hand and led her through the house. The sound of Annabelle's shoes were clopping on the wooden floor and echoing off the bare walls. Clash looked out of the window at Prowl who was in a deep conversation with Prime,

"I don't think they should stay here Prime, it's too open. They' re vulnerable to Decepticon attack,"

Will heard the conversation and so did Anna. She stopped dead in her tracks. Did he say Decepticon attack? Suddenly all the fun and excitement disappeared and she ran back to Lou crying,

"Mummy I don't want to live here. Mummy I'm scared," she screamed at the top of her voice. Annabelle was left in the corridor and started crying.

Mick, Will, Sarah and Ironhide, in his holoform ran into the house. Mick picked up Annabelle and comforted her, she was quickly soothed and snuggled into Mick's arms, sucking her thumb. When Sarah and Will got into the house they saw her and were relieved to see nothing serious was wrong with their daughter. Mick turned around,

"I think Anna scared her," he replied as he handed Annabelle to Sarah,

"Is Anna alright?" Sarah asked with concern in her voice.

Mick looked at Will who was standing just behind his wife,

"She's scared of the Decepticons. She told me this morning she sees them every night when her eyes are shut,"

"Poor little thing," Sarah replied sympathetically. Ironhide looked down at the little eight year old snuggled n her mothers arms,

"Don't worry little one," he said as he stroked her back, "We'll keep you safe,"

Lou looked at Ironhide, "Thank you," she said quietly. Ironhide looked at her, "We're just down the road from you Lou, call us if there's any trouble. Understand? I mean it! Call us!" Lou nodded at him and smiled gratefully.

Ratchet heard the conversation in the house and promptly walked up to Prowl and clonked him on the head with his fist. The tactician turned around and glared at the medic,

"What was that for? I was merely conveying my concern of the lack of security around this house,"

"And frightening the youngest child in the family," Ratchet snapped, "She is scared Decepticons will come for her,"

"So she should be. It's not safe," Prowl replied,

"It's perfectly safe for them," Clash snipped, "There is no reason why they can't live out here. I will be here and I'm sure two others will be spending as much time as possible here,"

"Make that three," Jazz replied,

"They are not much more than an hour away from the base and we can give them an emergency link line straight through to you if necessary," the midnght blue mech continued.

Lou and Anna emerged from the house closely followed by Will and his family. Marianne looked up at Mick,

"What are we going to do Dad?" Mick looked at Marianne,

"I don't know darling," he replied, "We have all suffered but for Anna it is coming out in her dreams. We shall have to be patient with her and reassure her she'll be okay. We'll all have to do it to each other for a while until we get used to being alone,"

"I wish all this never happened," Marianne replied as she flopped into a chair sending a cloud of dust into the air,

"_Ouch!" _Mick winced, "_That hurt!"_ Marianne heard Mick turn around and walk out of the house sadly. She looked at her dad as he walked through the door; he sat on the steps and placed his face in his hands. Optimus Prime saw him on the steps, his body convulsing with his sobs. He walked up to the human,

"Mick Ferrier, is everything okay?" Mick looked up, the red flames were the first things he saw. He put his head down and shook it. Ever so slowly Prime knelt down to his level and placed a huge hand on his back,

"You all need time, be patient," he said gently and quietly,

"I know, I know," Mick replied.

Marianne got up, feeling guilty for the words she'd spoken. She walked up to her dad,

"I'm sorry Dad. I didn't mean to hurt you," he didn't respond, "Dad, daddy please. Daddy," Marianne cried.

Ratchet walked up to Marianne and picked her up,

"Come little one, you're Dad's upset,"

He walked away with Marianne and carried her to a remote spot,

"It's my fault," she cried, "It's all my fault," Marianne sat in Ratchet's hand hugging herself.

This reconciliation process was taking a while. They were slowly bonding together as a family unit but at the moment each one was in their own lonely place as they dealt with their own hurt and pain. There was a tree in one of the Corrales, Ratchet took her there and sat in the shade keeping her in his huge green hand. Marianne appreciated the shade as he cooed and soothed her waiting for her to calm down.

Mick looked over at the tree where Ratchet and Marianne were sitting. He couldn't hear her crying anymore and wanted to go and speak with his daughter he looked at the red and blue mech,

"Optimus Prime, I'd like to thank you for what you've done for my family and me,"

"Please call me Optimus Mick, I consider you a friend,"

Mick stood up and walked toward the tree where Marianne was sitting, he then stopped, turned around and smiled at Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader nodded back at Mick who then quickly walked off towards his daughter. Ratchet saw Mick coming toward them,

"Your father is coming," he said to Marianne.

Marianne stopped crying and turned in the direction of the house. She saw her father slowly walking toward them. Marianne sat in Ratchet's hand sobbing and rubbing her face. She then looked up a Ratchet who looked down at her,

"You alright now?" he asked her.

Marianne looked away from the medic,

"I didn't think when I spoke," she replied, "I hurt him, now he thinks I am still angry with him,"

"Marianne, don't be too hard on yourself," Ratchet replied, "I'm sure he thinks you didn't mean to hurt him, unless your intention was to hurt,"

Marianne shook her head, "No Ratchet, it wasn't,"

"Then tell your father that"

She looked up at Ratchet, "I tried to but he didn't answer,"

"He was probably upset. He may still be blaming himself, you need to be patient with each other,"

"You okay honey?" Mick asked.

Marianne looked down at her dad from her perch, he looked sad and weary. He stood there in his jeans and bottle green t-shirt looking up at his daughter; the sunlight shining through the leaves dancing across his chest. Ratchet lowered his other hand and waited for Mick to accept his invitation to climb on. Mick hesitated a minute,

"I won't bite," he said sourly.

Mick got up and waited until he was high enough to reach Marianne. The yellow medic held his hands together so that Mick could climb over toward his daughter. He remembered the time he was in a transformers hand trying to comfort his wife before Barricade took her away. He pulled Marianne into his arms and hugged her,

"I'm sorry sweetheart," he gently soothed her,

"No daddy, I'm sorry. I didn't think before I spoke,"

"How about we both accept each other's apology and move on,"

"O-o-k-kay," Marianne sobbed again,

"Ohh my poor baby," Mick said as he rested his chin on Marianne's head and rubbed her back,

"Daddy I love you," Mick stopped dead still as he let those words he'd been wanting to hear for such a long time sink in. Tears pooled in the corner of his eyes and fell down his face,

"I love you too sweetheart," he replied.

Ratchet saw Anna skipping toward them her hair bouncing off her shoulder. She was humming a tune as she skipped in time to the rhythm,

"Daddy, Mummy says it's time to have the picnic," Anna said with a big smile,

"Did she now?" Mick said from his high perch, smiling

"Mm-hm," Anna replied,

"Well then I guess we'd better go," Mick said, at that point Ratchet started to stand up,

"Ratchet carry me too?" Anna asked,

"Anna what else do you say?" Mick asked, embarrassed by his daughter's demand,

"Please,"

Ratchet bent down and allowed Anna to climb on, then he lifted her onto his shoulder. Anna giggled,

"Oooh Daddy look, I'm really high," she said excitedly,

"Hold on," Ratchet said, Mick could almost see him smiling as he walked across the Corrales to the house. He then bent down and let them all off so that they could sit down together for the picnic.

* * *

One week later.

Marianne and Anna got up early in the morning, they had their first week at school and were getting ready to move into their ranch and Mick had started his new job. He enjoyed his first week and was looking forward to really getting stuck into it. Lou had gone back to her job as well and was happy to be back into routine, although she thought that travelling from home to work and back again would be a long journey. The general consensus between the couple was see how we go.

Lou and Mick were ready to move into the ranch along with what few belongings they had collected over the months. Prowl was still not happy about it unless Lou and Mick agreed to having a direct link to the Autobot base. Reluctantly they relented; so Prowl and Red Alert drove out to the ranch and set it up for them. Ratchet had checked Lou's leg one last time and helped her with her physio,

"You're doing well, Lou," he said, "How is Anna coping with things?" he asked her,

"She's still scared Decepticons may attack. I don't know what to do. We keep reassuring her she'll be safe but frankly Ratchet I don't like to do that because who knows what they'll do,"

Ratchet didn't say anything he simply nodded in affirmation. He knew Lou was right but he had an idea,

"Lou I can give Anna a phone with a direct link to me if that would help her. Wheeljack and I were working on one especially with Anna in mind. It has a link to the Autobot base and I can programme in a number so she can reach me,"

"That might help her Ratchet," Lou replied,

"OKay I'll take you to your quarters and we can teach her how to use it,"

He lifted Lou up and carried her to their quarters after calling Wheeljack through his comm link. Once they got there Wheeljack was already telling Anna about the phone,

"Lucky you," Marianne said with a smile, "I don't get one of those,"

"Yes you do," Ratchet replied, "Sam and Mikaela have one too but theirs is programmed to go through to Bee,"

He bent down to Anna's level and spoke to her about the phone teaching her how to use it. Marianne watched him too,

"Okay girls, who would you like me to programme into this phone?"

"Bluestreak," Anna replied without hesitation,

"Okay anybody else?" Ratchet asked,

"Uhm, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Jazz," Marianne said,

He pushed a button on her phone, it bleeped and clicked before the numbers came up,

"Anna I have programmed my number in there too so you have five to contact if you need help. Do not be scared little one, if Decepticons come ring us and we'll get there as quick as we can. Promise!"

Ratchet smiled at the 8 year old, Anna smiled back, then she rushed forward and hugged the green medic as best as she could, Ratchet smiled as he placed a hand on her tiny back. Lou stood there with her arms folded smiling at them both. There was a knock at the door,

"Lou, it's me Clash. You ready to go?" he called as he walked in,

"Yes we are,"

They all got up and left the quarters. Lou stopped to take one last look at the room she had got used to and had become their home, then she looked at Mick and the girls. She was happy, she had her husband back, her family was reconciled and the memories of the last few months were fading very quickly.

She stepped into the midnight blue four wheel drive and they drove out of the base. Optimus prime was standing by the entrance to the base along with Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz and the twins,

"Clash wait," she said,

Clash stopped just by the entrance to the base. Lou stepped out of the car and looked up at the huge blue and red mech,

"I'd like to thank you, all of you" she said as she turned around to look at them all, "For everything you've done for us and for being there when we needed help most. You are all welcome to come and visit us anytime,"

"Thank you Lou," they replied, "We will hold you up on that offer," Sideswipe replied with a wink,

"I'm sure you will Sides," Lou said with a smile as she got back in with Clash.

They drove out of the base followed by Bluestreak and the girls who wanted to ride in him. He was going to stay at the ranch when Clash or Jazz; who was gong to be Mick's guardian, couldn't. They drove along the road and up the dirt track. Barricade had been watching the activity around the ranch when he found out Lou's parents owned it. It had been quite easy to convince the old couple to leave their much loved home, and even easier to convince them to allow the family to move in. During his first hunt for Sam Witwicky in the hunt for the Allspark he had discovered the human's sentimenality when it came to treasured possessions. He didn't care for it much but this time it proved very useful. Nobody saw his ruby optics watcing them from a distance as they moved in and he was out of range for the Autobot's to pick him up on their scanners. All he had to do was wait for them to settle down, he had all the time in the world. The Decepticon medic had almost managed to put Dark Orbit together, all they had to do now was to bring his spark back online...hopefully! He enjoyed working with the Decepticon spy.

That night when Anna went to bed she placed the phone next to her bedside table and left it on. It rang. Anna picked it up and answered it,

"Hello," she called,

"Goodnight Anna," sideswipe's voice said over the phone closely followed by Sunstreaker,

"Goodnight," she replied and switched off her light, feeling secure and safe.

* * *

This is the end of Illusion. Thank you everybody for reading my story. Thank you Snow 246, Alex and Decepticon chick for your reviews.


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